


Dancing to the Sound of Clockwork

by AcrylicPaint



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, F/F, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-05-09 14:42:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5543774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcrylicPaint/pseuds/AcrylicPaint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a doomed metal worker is faced with the task of building what could potentially be a weapon of mass destruction, she must choose between going on with it, or fight the system. Even if she's forced into exile in the process. </p><p>And really, it would be so much easier if said weapon didn't posses the social skills of a 12 year-old boy and the brain of a super computer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Dance with a Flame

**Author's Note:**

> I've begun a series of works that I might be publishing at some point. A personal project of sorts (mostly world building and plot practice). This happens to be one of them. Kind of an experiment I will continue if there's interest in it.

Oil, blood, steam, repeat. Metal, heat, water, fire, repeat. Ringing, banging, bending, breaking, repeat. This is what it had come to. An endless cycle of repetition, of recurrence, rhythm, a dance with a flame, with a cloud of steam, with the soothing melody of banging, shaping, creating of a liquid, adaptable metal that at one point was fixed. Rigid. Solid. _Firm_ . How it all could become such a malleable, changeable fluid, ready for rebirth. A metaphor for a person’s mere existence, mere purpose. A joke to many, a sense of purpose to some; a scheme, an ambition, something to look for.  A dream, a hobby filled with artistic expression, or the necessity for invention, advancement, _improvement_. An activity with the best intentions that could become a weapon of mass destruction, or life itself. It gives a new meaning to “blood, sweat, and tears” when your own creation cuts deep into your bloodstream and fuses with your very being.

It destroys you, poisons you, makes you feel _alive_ . And suddenly it’s nothing but cruel, bitter irony that spreads through your entire body. Like a virus that cheats your defenses, travelling undetected like unwanted jealousy; forgotten and ignored in the back of your head. It seduces your train of thought, misleads you, and tempts you until you give in. The oil becomes the drug that lets you go on. The steam is your opium, your lifeline, the very aspect of your pathetic existence, _yet you can’t get enough of it._ Like the musician’s melody and the painter’s stroke, you’re left at your hammer’s will; a slave of creation and destruction, but also its master. The only time you’re fully in control and left at mercy simultaneously. You become numb to the heat, numb the pain, numb to the feeling of emptiness. You lose yourself to the sound of machinery, to the smell of the coal powering your flame, and in the spur of moment you wake up. Sweat trails down the side of your face and neck, breathe caught up on your throat and the wounds from yesterday’s shift sting even though you know they had healed. It haunts your dreams, _but you keep going back._ Like a desperate creature begging for a drink in the middle of an arid desert. _Fucking pathetic, isn’t it?_ You push herself off the bed and _breathe_ . _Only to do everything all over again._

After all, the conformity of familiarity outweighs the thrill of wonder in your book a million times over.

“Get up. Your shift begins in an hour.”

A secondary voice, different from the one in her head interrupts her musing. “I know” It’s all she manages, still buzzed up on the complexity of realization and the confusion of uncertainty.

Getting up immediately despite the headache proves to be fatal. Her ears ring and the edges of her vision fade to black, but uttering obscenities isn’t enough to relieve the pain this time. The ringing doesn’t stop when she reaches the bathroom, but it certainly lessens. Though she might’ve become numb to it, _like everything else_. The cold water prickles her skin like coal-heated needles, but they don’t sink in. Instead, they hover briefly over the surface and disappear moments later. It brings back a distant memory; probably an old wound sunk in ice. A moment where she swore she could bend fire at her will. She was wrong. A second splash brings her back and suddenly she’s able to hear again, though against her wishes. Everything is too loud, too bright, she grips the sink tightly and blinks.

In front of the mirror there’s a face she barely recognizes.

Disheveled blue hair standing in all directions, plastered with sweat against her forehead. Eyes much too dull for such a ‘youthful’ face. It’s hard to believe that at one point they were blue. How her eye bags don’t drop to her nose is beyond her limited understanding. It feels as if her skin is forever stained with ash and smoke, creating constellations of freckles that don’t wash off, or fade away. It makes every shadow stand out more and her expression much more lifeless.

‘This is me’ is certainly not what she thinks of when she looks in the mirror. Not anymore.

The familiar whistle of the steam engine echoes down the hallway filling her chest with a tar-like substance. She recognizes it as grief, or melancholy, though those two often came hand-in-hand. Footsteps join the composition of noises soon after the whistle. She sees them; pitiful souls deprived of a sense of purpose, of control over their destiny, forced to work to reach—reach what? _Nothing. They’re doomed and you know it. And so are you._ She shakes her head and the picture is gone, just like the bittersweet liquid clogging her throat. The ghost of a vitriolic smile graces her lips for a brief moment. _If complete submission is what they want, complete submission is what they’ll get._

The change in temperature is predictable, but not any less harsh. The skin of her feet—accustomed to the cold, metal tiles of the dorms—seemingly flinches away from the hard, scorching floor of the factory. Banging fills her ears like clockwork, constant, mundane (if not a little morbid). To wince at the flickering flares floating is a reflex,, but she doesn’t cough at the smoke like she used to. She doesn’t hiss when the steam vents open up on her face; _you have enough scars, another one won’t make a difference._ When she reaches her station her body is already accustomed to the temperature. Hands are slow. With movements that mimic the sound waves against a drum, and the rising sand underneath the surface of the sea. A lonely bell makes its presence known, making her head turn and close her eyes for a moment.

“Alright, ya heard it. Time to work.” The voice sounds disrupted in her head. _Probably for the best_. An attempt to tie her hair up doesn’t do much to her bangs, but at least it allows her to see the hell she’s shoving her hands into. Skilled hands make their way towards scrap metal, residue of something that at one point was someone else’s glory. Now devalued into ‘trash’, written off as ‘useless’, ‘ _expendable_ ’.  She holds onto a wretched gear with her bare hands for a second before slipping on a pair of fire resistant gloves that completely cover her skin. This too feels familiar, if not a little gross. They’re still moist with sweat and water, but it’s been so long that she no longer feels disgusted, but instead feels that same longing a child feels for a blanket or an old toy. She remembers them being much bigger, but quickly suppresses that thought. Time is a relative concept in a place where there’s no sun.

Pity swells in her stomach when she looks back at the small gear. To think it seemed almost new, judging by the metal, but bent in so many ways. Corrupted, violated, _abandoned_. She puts it back in the box and decides to start with something else; an iron rod. At one point a powerful man’s baton, or an elderly cane. Perhaps a weapon’s cylinder that met its fate in a war. Dwelling on that thought for a while brings her peace before she throws it nonchalantly into the furnace. No point in thinking about an object’s past. After all, no matter how admirable, their end would be the same; Melted to become something new.

“Say, Lapis.”

“Hmm?” Lapis bother twisting her head, and instead watches the fire attentively, in love with the way the flames devour the object. Engulf it, without actually destroying it.

“Do you know how long till the next visit?” The owner of the voice still has that hopeful glint in their eyes—she concludes after lifting her head slightly—and their voice is still hopeful, cheerful, but not entirely. She breathes out a weak ‘I don’t know’ and chooses not to speak again.

“Oi, Amethyst. Don’t bother her right now. She’s in the zone.” A fiery voice yells from a couple of stations down. They sound tired, but as if their stubborn nature forced them to stay happy. They drag out the last syllable like a tasteless joke, and she almost smiles.

“Did you hear about the impromptu inspection?”

“Is it today?”

A number of conversations reach her ears; (like the many sounds of the factory) one of them particularly intriguing.

“I overheard the guards talking about it earlier. I don’t think it’s just a regular check up.” Their voices lower down to whispers when one of the guards travels down the aisle. She unconsciously leans closer, nearly bumping into her workbench.

“It’s probably a load of bullshit. Nothing has happened in months.” She can’t help but agree with the second voice and bring the cylinder out of the furnace, once again uninterested. She picks up her hammer. The metal is no longer rigid, but instead an almost gooey build that hurts her eyes with a bright orange glow. She isn’t sure if it’s the heat or her mind distorting the image, but bets on the latter nonetheless. She brings the hammer above her shoulder with one hand while the other holds the rod with a pincer, only to bring it down moments later and joining the never-ending symphony of rattling clogging the factory.

It’s strange, how such a loud environment that used to bother her is now just an addition to the unbroken train of noise cluttering her head. She breathes. The hammer comes down a second time and the rod begins to lose its shape.

“I don’t know, man. I think they’re bringing in a commissioner.”

The hammer doesn’t come down a third time. her muscles seem to freeze on the spot, metal bent at an awkward angle, left unfinished. Nobody notices. The rod falls into the water and the whistle of steam going off serves as a reality check. Lapis doesn’t look away as the cloud of steam rises and threatens to burn her once more. She’s immobile until someone pokes her shoulder and she breathes out as if she hadn’t done so in ages.

“You okay?” her ears and eyes trick her into seeing someone who’s not there and she blinks once, twice, three times until the feeling is gone and her senses are back.

“Y-Yeah…” She nearly bark out, voice hoarse from misuse. When she looks up, the voice is gone and she’s left alone with her thoughts. A common occurrence made rare due to the current circumstances. Turning around she notices the difference. Lapis becomes aware that the noise had stopped. The trails of sights lead to the large metal door in front of the factory—uncharacteristically open— _open?_ She shakes her head, confused. Two figures above everything, up in an old metal platform with view to every worker—including her—stand firm. Shadows hide their faces. One with a particularly slender figure she recognizes.

“A diamond…” A fellow worker whispers for her, saving her the fate of tasting that awful word in her mouth. Like a flock of sheep they stare. Deer in headlights, mindless animals, any term will suffice at this point. _She doesn’t even speak to you directly_ , _what a cocky bitch._ She can see her whispering to that leech of hers, desperate to do his job right. They nod and turn to them, expectant.

For a brief moment she can feel every single person in the room breathe in at the same time, leaving this one, prolonged silence that weighs on them like bricks. Like someone is holding her throat tightly, giving her a chance to breathe inbetween squeezes. But this time it’s dead, dead silence that is dreaded instead of hopeful. The officer clears his throat.

“There has been a rumor going around that needs to be cleared out.” His mannerisms irritate her, making her grit her teeth. “There is a certain demand we must meet due to a recent commission that has been issued.” Murmuring breaks out almost instantly. She looks around; of all the expressions, fear is the most prevalent.

“Silence!” As requested, the work place is vacant of any sound. He continues; “Your blueprints and instructions will be given to you tomorrow morning. We will begin as soon as possible. Carry on.”

She frowns at the “we”, for she knows exactly what he means by that. He never includes himself or his officers in that sense. The steam engine roars to life once again and everything is back to normal. Except for the hidden knowledge shared among those under the same roof.

From this point on, everything would change, and she was damn sure of it.  


	2. Furnace Overheated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to continue it. Updates don't have a fixed schedule yet because of exams, but I will try my best.

To say she was dreading the first day of commission working was an understatement.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but I am.”

Lapis leaps lazily off the cold platform she calls ‘bed’ and makes her way outside her room. The wait had made her anxious, so sleep was near impossible, and the fact that Amethyst had decided to announce the entirety that was the commission with the same intensity as a soccer commentator didn’t help. The concept of privacy was practically nonexistent in the confinements of the dorms—if a three-by-three metal cube could be considered anywhere within the limits of ‘dormitory, that is. It didn’t bother her that much. At first it had. She unconsciously rubs her wrists as she remembers the punishment of ‘defying and rioting needlessly’. She had thrown herself against the walls countless of times screaming until the guards decided it was enough.

She doesn’t remember for how long she was shackled to the walls.

“Damn. Look at this shit.” Her roommate whistles as she flips through the papers neatly folded on the workbench. Lapis walks past the blueprints without giving them as much of a glance and makes her way to the bathroom. Only after she’s washed her face with cold water at least three times does she bother examining her workload.

“What was the time limit again?” She reads over the notes nonchalantly, skimming through the warning signs and unnecessary jottings before a peculiar page catches her eye; a concept illustration.

“Two weeks.”

“Fantastic.” Tired eyes scan the picture, trying to make sense out of the project. _Why did it matter if the weapon looked…human?_ In fact, if she didn’t know any better, she’d say that the commissioner was playing mad scientist. “This doesn’t look like anything we’ve built before…” She stops for a second. “Wait, ‘artificial intelligence’?”

“That can’t be right.” Amethyst leans against the bench, hands gripping the surface firmly as she reads over the page. “What the fuck?” She rips the paper out of Lapis’ hands, unbelieving, and frowns.

A knock on the door makes them both jump.

“Hey, did you guys check out the blueprints?” A short worker pokes her head inside of the dorm, a headband stopping unruly hair from covering her eyes.

“Checking em’ right now.” Amethyst doesn’t turn around when she says this, too engrossed in chewing her pen and reading the same page for the fourth time. “This doesn’t sit right with me.” She finally says, tossing the papers onto the bench and pulling the pen out of her mouth.

“We’ve never worked with… _thinking_ things before.”

“Yeah, we’ve only worked with you, Ruby.” Lapis ignores the obscenities, still utterly captivated by the design. There was definitely something suspicious about the entire thing. _Why would a Diamond need a machine with the capacity for reason? Wouldn’t that make following orders harder?_ She shakes her head and closes her eyes. It didn’t matter what she thought. She’d have to go with it anyways.

“Well, there’s always a first time for everything, isn’t there?” Lapis stretches her arms above her head and cracks her knuckles. Her tone is slightly off, but if the other two notice it, they don’t show it. When she opens her eyes Ruby is gone and Amethyst is back to reading the annotations. She doesn’t need to know what time it is, because moments later she hears the steam engine roaring from the factory, followed by the other’s groan, and it takes every bit of will power to not join her.

They make their way to their respective stations moments after dividing the workload and deciding on each of their parts. She decided on the cover, since she knew her roommate was much too impatient for small details. She didn’t feel like working on the engine anyways. The fact that the design included organ-like generators made the entire process much more disturbing than it needed to be. According to the blueprints, they only needed to make the carcass, and that the ‘essential wiring would be done separately by a secondary group’. She takes a deep breath and relaxes. It was just another work day. She would get through this.

 

It takes several hours. Now that her working hours had been altered she was to stay as many hours as possible working on the project. Not that it made a difference to her anyways, she didn’t feel time go by, or if it had gone by at all. Sweat trails down the side of her face, down her arms, and down the slope of her nose. It’s hot. Unbelievably so. But she knows the hotter it is the quicker she can finish, even if it risks her tolerance. She forgets where she is for a brief moment and stares down at her hands. They’re twitching, so she knows she’s reaching her limit. Her muscles tense and her hands ball up into fists. She can hear the leather going tight around her fingers before she releases her grip and breathes out. The fire begins to feel unbearable, the steam slipping under her sleeves and her arms getting sore from the swinging of the hammer. The scrap metal is dropped onto the water and she jumps up as quickly as the steam going off.

She decides to walk it off.

She takes off her gloves, goggles, and runs her hands through her hair, grimacing at the moistness of the water and oil. She doesn’t know how long it has been. Probably around four hours. She stares at her hands, lost in thought and unwittingly tracing the scars of her skin. All different, unique, each mark tells a different story; of recklessness, naivety, wrath, desperation. It isn’t long until she’s running back to her dorm and dropping her things on the workbench before locking herself in the bathroom.

She stares at her reflection again. Her face is pale and eyes slightly unfocused. She breathes in and out, counting unevenly, in an attempt to regulate her breathing. She sinks her hands onto the water and hisses when it comes out cold—which, really, is strange considering she should be used to cold water by now. The smudges come off slowly, tainting the metal sink black as dirt flows down the drain. When her fingers go numb from the cold she splashes water on her face several times. If this was done as a way of refreshing or waking up, she’s not sure, and definitely not in the right mental state to be asking such questions. The wall feels cold when she leans against it before gradually sinking down to the floor of the bathroom, knees pressed against her chest and arms folded over them. The sound is significantly muted when all the doors are locked, and she’s thankful for the thickness of the metal gates. The only problem is the cold. It was as if her life kept alternating between scorching heat and numbing cold, with no in between stages. She would get used to a temperature before it became intolerable and then quickly change to the opposite environment. _This can’t be healthy_. _You’re in hell, nothing here is healthy._ She buries her face deeper into her arms, ignoring the forming damp spots on her sleeves.

_What are you doing? Don’t you have things to do?_

She covers her ears and shuts her eyes so hard she sees shapes under her eyelids.

_Get up. You’re just wasting your time, like always._

“S-Shut up…”

_Fucking pathetic, don’t you think? Sitting here, pitying your own sad existence. Get up._

Lapis grits her teeth, fully aware that it was all inside her head. She breathes in.

_Did you not hear me? I said get up. Get the fuck over yourself already. It’s embarrassing,_

“I said shut up!” She slams her fist against the wall and the room shakes briefly with the sound of turning clockwork, which resonates for a couple of seconds after the impact. Her heart beats a mile a minute and she grips her hair tightly, panting briefly. When her hands stop shaking she whips her face and moves to stand up, only for her knees to give in. Lapis holds onto the sink for dear life, pushing herself up and keeping her breathing steady. _It had been a while._

“Lapis?”

She snaps out of it and glares at her reflection in the mirror. _Look at you. You’re a mess._ She makes pools with her hands and splashes her face once more, not caring if she made a mess in the bathroom before drying herself with a worn towel.

“Coming.” Lapis barks out from the other side of the door, furiously running her hand through her hair in an effort to make it look ‘normal’. _Because messy bed hair had become her normal._ Satisfied, she gives her reflection one last look before unlocking the door and walking out.

“There you are, I wanted to show you something.” There’s something different about the way Amethyst looks at her. Something she doesn’t quite catch, but she gives out trying to figure it out.

“Yeah, I was taking a break. Furnace overheated.”

“More like Lapis Lazuli overheated. Your face is all red. You sure you don’t have a fever?” The shorter of the two has to stand on her toes to place a hand on Lapis’ cheek. Lapis looks at her in some sort of daze before raising an eyebrow and stepping back.

“I’m fine, Amethyst.” She asserts flatly, picks up her gear and makes her way to the door, stopping right at the doorway. “What is it that you wanted to show me?”

“On second thought, I think it’s better if I show you after sunset. The walls have ears, y’know?” With that, she walks out, leaving a confused Lapis to wonder.

Eventually she catches on. “W-Wait, Amethyst!” Lapis runs out of the dorm only to be stopped by one of the guards, looking down at her rather expectantly.

“What are you doing outside of your station?” He drones almost lazily, and she’s thankful that he’s one of _those._ It irritates her nonetheless, but at least she only had to apologize in this case.

“I was dressing a wound, sir. I was currently on my way back.” He raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t press the issue. _Well that’s a first._ She feels her fingers twitch in anticipation.

“Very well. Carry on.” Lapis nods and begins to make her way to the factory, but is stopped by a pull at her shoulder. “Stay out of trouble, Lazuli. Wouldn’t want you to be discharged early.”

There was only one way to be discharged early, and that was dumping your dead body onto the sewers.

“R-Roger.” When she’s at a safe distance, she lets out a growl. _Alright Lapis, calm down. Let’s not make the same mistakes._ She closes her eyes and breathes in deeply. She had gotten good at handling her anger. Letting all that practice go to hell would be a waste. She knew the day she’d be able to use it was coming. She takes the long way to the stations, around the engines, generators, coal reservations, hydroelectric dams, and external structure. Or, rather, the area that best assimilates a room with a window. It was the closest thing to the outside world in the facility; except the window didn’t lead to anything particularly open, or ‘real’ but to an endless screen of smoke and steam that hid the barricades in the distance. Lapis’ steps are faint, as if dancing over the grid of the room with a grace only worthy of a creature with wings. She rests her forearms on the window frame and rests her head on them, trying her best to make out something within the cloud of smoke. She sighs and shuffles back to her feet, only to throw herself against a column when footsteps began to echo down the hall.

“I’m telling you. We should regulate the production to test the prototype. This project is way too dangerous to be left at the hands of these… _things._ ” Lapis rolls her eyes. _Creative. Ten points to the aristocratic dickbag with the ridiculous nose and remarkable wit._ She pokes her head out, only to press it against the cold marble again, hitting it slightly. She grimaces, but stops herself from rubbing the back of her head.

“We already gave them this assignment. What do you propose I do? Ask them to stop the production entirely because _the doctor_ is questioning her own abilities?”

“N-No! Of course not! I’m just saying that it might get out of hand if we don’t test the brain first. If the AI is distributed without being properly tested they might get out of control.” She can hear the supposed doctor fidgeting, her voice cracking with fear. If the fear is being planted by the officer or the situation, she isn’t sure.

“Do what you must, but do not bother me about the production. Yellow has spoken her wishes. The prototype is locked up where you left it.”

The footsteps stop.

“Will that work for you, doctor?”

“It will be risky, but I can work with it.”

“Very well. You’re dismissed.” She lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when the footsteps diminish in the distance.

The exchange only worsens her doubts. She had to talk to Amethyst about it sooner or later.

 

She didn’t expect to find blood splattered within the scrap metal of the factory’ floor.

And really, a maroon stain contrasting against silver is not too hard to miss. Especially if a headband of the same color was left carelessly on the same spot.

Lapis pinches the bridge of her nose and looks around, immediately spotting a large circle forming between the stations. It’s loud and trashy, but she can’t make out cheering due to the machines. She assumes the worst.

_Ruby._

She calmly makes her way towards the commotion, hoping with every fiber of her being that her guesses were wrong. Then she remembers she was with Amethyst. _Fucking idiots_. Some of the workers give her way when they see Lapis approaching, a knowing glance of respect and utter fear gracing their features. She shrugs it off and continues, only stopping when a rowdy—and significantly heavy—metal worker is thrown into her. She doesn’t flinch, and instead practically throws the man to the side, making the riot stop momentarily. Some visibly gulp, others look away indignant, and the commotion is tamed enough for her to see the center of the circle. As expected, she sees them both, drenched in sweat and reeking of victory. Smug smiles proudly grace their faces, and really, she didn’t expect any less from them.

However, as proud as she felt, she still had a small little bit of sense left, _and_ dignity. When Lapis walks into the circle the smiles are gone and the cocky attitude is replaced by shame. Whereas Amethyst wears a sheepish smile, Ruby rubs the back of her neck and avoids eye contact. Lapis just sighs and shakes her head.

“That’s enough, twits, circulate.” She yells at the workers gathering around them, voice is harsh, but by the time she tries to soften it the damage is already done. Nevertheless the fuss is controlled and the two short workers are still in one piece. She knew they’d win anyways. She wasn’t worried about the workers beating them, but the guards finding them. _Then_ they’d be hopeless, and she wouldn’t be able to help them.

Well she could try, but that wasn’t a pretty thing to think about.

“So? How was the tour around the facility?” Amethyst whacks her arm playfully, drying her face with a towel.

“More insightful than I would’ve expected.”

“How so?”

“I don’t think it’s an appropriate subject to talk about _right now_.” Lapis’ gaze flicks between Amethyst’s and a guard patrolling. She gets the message and nods.

“Feelin’ kind of like a third-wheel here. Mind filling me in?” She turns to Ruby and shakes her head, handing her the headband she had found on the floor near the entrance. The other nods and ties it around her forehead swiftly and fixes her hair.

“Anyways. I hope you guys know you’re idiots.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ve heard.”

“Good. Now get to work.” The two simply stare at her, but she only turns around and walks to her station.

 

She notices a brief change in the atmosphere when she begins working again. It’s… _lighter;_ like she has a purpose again, instead of mindlessly following orders. It’s nice for a change, so she works relentlessly, trying to get as much done as possible. The stations around her are empty as per usual. At first they had been occupied, but said workers were either discharged or had grown scared of her. She didn’t blame them. After all, she was the one with the most time in the facility.

Unlike most people she knew, she could remember every day perfectly; even the day she had been issued to work. For some it was the punishment of criminals. For others, they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but for her, it was a mixture of those two reasons.

Perhaps reacting violently wasn’t the best idea anyways. Not killing any officers would’ve lowered her penalty.

She was proud nonetheless. They deserved it, those _animals_. She’d kill them as such if she had the chance. Yet her attitude changed through the years. The spite turned into desperation, and like that, it turned into hopelessness. She became numb to the feeling of captivity, and thus, began building up all that internalized anger over the years. If it was a way of coping, self-defense, or personal preparation, she isn’t sure, but they all worked pretty damn well. Good enough to create a terrifying reputation when you’re lanky and look like you’ve seen hell.

At least the looks weren’t entirely wrong.

The hammer next to her comes down harshly, gaining her attention. Lapis doesn’t turn, but merely shifts her gaze to scan the area. The ringing stuns, but only for a short period of time, long enough to make her wince and miss the source of the noise. It takes seconds, but eventually the throbbing stops and she continues to work, paying little mind to whatever that sound had been. The bell rings and she knows it’s time. The day had gone much quicker than she had expected it to, and she doesn’t know if she should be thankful or not. Getting stuff done didn’t exactly reward her in any way, but not working enough did have a punishment she didn’t want to think about.

She remembers her first couple of days in the facility. It had been hell. She had been the most uncooperative worker of the bunch at the time, and it had its consequences. They locked her up more often than she liked to admit until she was forced to work out of boredom. It was a strange technique to make workers do their job. But damn was it effective.

“Overexerting yourself won’t get you anywhere. You know that better than anyone else.” Lapis doesn’t look up from her station when a voice speaks up behind her.

“I know.”

“Then why the extra effort?”

“Sudden rush of productiveness.”

“Lapis…”

“The unpredictable feeling of determination?”

“....”

“Motivation harvested from the goodness in my heart.”

“Stop playing.”

“No real reason, Sadie.”

The blonde shakes her head and crosses her arms, clearly not buying any of it. She didn’t blame her, it was hard to fool someone who had almost as much time there as her. Lapis shrugs nonetheless, not wanting to explain her reason, even though there was really none to talk about. _Not an important one anyways._

Sadie sighs, defeated, but not entirely disappointed. She didn’t expect to get anything out of Lapis and wasn’t surprised at the expected outcome. Despite that, she couldn’t help but notice the forced actions, the exhausted expression, and how _tired_ Lapis was. Not that she looked any different any other day, but today…it looked more undeniable, more apparent. It made Lapis seem _weak,_ and _hopeless;_ things the girl always hated to portray, even if it had become her natural demeanor. She decides to leave the girl be, walking away slowly, but not without giving Lapis a last glance trying to express her imminent worry.

Lapis doesn’t look back, but appreciates it nonetheless.

Like a splash of cold water, the ringing of the bell brings her relief. Her muscles relax and her bones release a series of sounds that should not be considered anywhere within the limits of healthy, but it feels good and she doesn’t care. Lapis looks around to get a glimpse of the same faces, all in a similar, relieved haze that she considers the closest thing to pleasure in the facility. The thought makes her heart heavy; how the mere feeling of relaxation is the maximum expression of happiness in such an environment. Lapis shakes the feeling off by stretching and standing up, mind lost in the mess that is her station. She hadn’t realized how much she _actually worked_. It made her feel uneasy that she could lose herself so easily despite the fact she knew exactly what she was making. Her shoulders drop when she hears laughter from a distance, and immediately recognizes the voices.

Ruby and Amethyst were pushing each other playfully as they made their way to the dorms, careless, relaxed, _and almost happy_. It lifts her spirits, if only in the slightest, and suddenly she has enough energy to tear her eyes away from her work and walk towards them. She knows her smile is not the most genuine. They know too, but it’s an improvement.

Lapis joins them silently. She takes her gloves off and pushes her goggles up to her hair to take in the real colors of the factory. At this time—if she could refer to it as _time_ —the small openings near the roof would let in the smallest fragment of sunlight through, bathing the machines in an ominous, yet beautiful orange glow. Shadows stood out more, and the metal glistened beautifully against the golden light. She felt lightheaded, and blocked out the obnoxious clanking of her boots against the iron floor. The echo of her steps faded out, as did the bickering of the other two workers next to her. There was something about the scenery that made the place less…terrible. It was the only time she could appreciate something that caused her so much pain, and it infuriated her. Hell wasn’t supposed to be beautiful.

She’s brought back when Amethyst whacks her arm a little harder than necessary.

“So? How was the workload?” Instead of answering straight away she rolls her shoulders, cracking them in the process. This gets the message across and Amethyst grins, “Tough day, huh? Don’t worry. We’ve only got a couple bells left.”

“That’s really not reassuring, Amethyst.” Ruby huffs and scratches the back of her neck, seemingly sore. “I really hope I don’t get night shift.”

“They won’t choose you. You’re too loud.”

“So are you!”

“Neither of you is doing night shift. They’re smarter than that.” Lapis’ voice goes down to a whisper when they reach the corridor, “you’re too likely to escape, or sabotage something.”

“You flatter us, L.”

“We will die here.”

“We can’t die, genius.” Lapis tunes them out and looks down at her feet. Her eyes trace the edges of the metal tiles, every scratch and every crack in the surface were memorized. She could walk blindly in and out of the rooms with no difficulty. She knew every entrance, every secret, and every passage that there was to know. There was nobody in the facility that had as much time or experience as her, and she knew it. It was dangerous. She knew everyone and everyone knew her. Nobody trusted her and everyone who in some way merged with her would get the same kind of treatment. Lapis knew her room was the only one who was constantly monitored.

There was nothing she could do but wait.

Eventually she reaches the dorms and falls back to a relaxed stroll, fully aware that it was a risk. But it was a necessary risk. The other workers walk past her, some brushing her shoulder lightly while other straight up rammed into her arm. She didn’t flinch. When she’s alone she finally exhales and drops her shoulders. She catches a familiar light down the hall and counts the seconds it takes an official to leave the control room. She’s satisfied to feel the door close beneath her feet when her count barely reaches twenty.

The cameras for that specific hallway would be completely overlooked for the next ten seconds.

Lapis breathes for a second too long and sighs. _Not yet._ She picks up her pace once again, this time it’s steady, and she reaches her dorm breathing heavily and resting her back against the metal door.

“Couldn’t do it?”

“Not enough time.”

“You say that every time, L.”

Lapis remains silent and walks towards her bedroom. She throws her equipment unceremoniously on the workbench and lays down on the metal surface. It cools her skin, and it calms her down just enough for her to relax and rest her hand over her eyes, covering the painful glare of the lamp above her head.

“You can stay if you want.” She hears Amethyst say from the other room.

“What?”

“I’ll cover for you. It’ll give you time to rest and figure it out.”

“…thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

With that, she allows herself to give in to the feeling of exhaustion burning in the back of her head. A few centuries ago, she wouldn’t have been able to sleep in a hard, cold surface, but now it brought her comfort. It reminded her that she was okay. She could rest. She wasn’t in danger for the time being. She knew she’d miss the daily health check if she didn’t get up, but she trusted Amethyst enough to come up with a good enough excuse to let it slide. They could always check her later. There was always a later when it came to Lapis.

The bell rings again and she hears the door close, locking itself merely seconds after it makes contact with the frame. The lights turn off and she breathes in. She had to make it up to her roommate one day.

But for now she was okay with just letting go.

* * *

 When Lapis wakes up she slaps a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Her whole body is shaking, and jagged breaths make her throat sore with cold air. The room is too dark for her to make out the door or her roommate’s. She assumes Amethyst is still out and tries to steady her breathing. She succeeds for a brief moment, which gives her enough time to get up and walk to the door. _Breathe_.

The door’s unlocked.

Lapis doesn’t hesitate to walk out and bathe in the soft light that faintly lights up the corridor. Her grey eyes adjust to the darkness with the little light the windows provide, and she slowly makes her way to the stations. She took passageways she knew weren’t monitored, and hallways with faulty cameras, until finally reaching the end of the facility. She thought of the whole thing as a short cut you could only use if you knew the entire building like the back of your hand. And luckily she did. She stops in the same room she walked in earlier. The one with the large, foggy window. It was the only part of the factory that transformed from grids and bars to corridors and columns made of marble. Normally heavily supervised, and now completely vacant.

As if testing waters, she walks carefully, almost hovering over the ground. There’s a long corridor down she can’t look into due to the lack of light, and it’s sends a shiver down her spine.

The most protected room of the facility was currently empty. It was unsettling.

Lapis throws herself against the wall and slides her way to the entrance of the corridor. She pokes her head in and squints. It is pitch black, except for a dim light peeking from under a door down the end of the hallway. She focuses on the light and slowly makes her in, careful with her steps, and thanking her absent-minded self for forgetting to put on boots. That would’ve made this much more difficult than it already was. Her hand brushes over a vent in the darkness and she gives the edges an experimental tug. Surprisingly—almost suspiciously so—it comes off. Lapis leans the cover gently against the wall and kneels in front of the opening.

Definitely a close fit, but a good escape plan nevertheless.

As if on cue, the door at the end of the corridor burst open and Lapis comes to two realizations.

One; the door wasn’t a door, but a _vault._

And two; She wasn’t supposed to _be_ there. In a fit of panic, Lapis crawls into the ventilation system and swiftly puts the cover back into place. The light from inside the vault illuminates the corridor and it makes her crawl back into the blackness to avoid being seen. Assuming she hadn’t _already_ been spotted.

“That’s it! I’m not taking more of this madness! You’re on your own, Citrine!”

A slender figure, tall, almost graceful if it wasn’t for the state of dismay she was it, stomps out of the vault. A silhouette of legs and a lab coat brush in front of the vent and makes Lapis inch back in fear, but she spots soft— _cherry blonde?—_ hair in complete disarray with the light provided by the room. It’s too dark to notice any facial features, but her voice sounds angry and if that wasn’t enough, her loud stomping could probably be heard from her dorm.

“Pearl, where are you going?! We’re not finished! We can’t just leave _her-”_

“ _It!_ And I won’t take part of this any longer. Lock it up, if that’s what is troubling you. I’m done for today.”

With that, she disappears down the hall, heels clicking faintly in the distance. The other one stands in front of the vault, probably weighing her options, before sighing and running after her.

“Pearl, wait!” The second— _Citrine?—_ runs out, hurrying after Pearl and leaving the vault open. Lapis counts to twenty, both to make sure they’re out of sight and to calm down, before kicking the vent cover and crawling out into the corridor. She stretches and leans against the wall to make sure there’s nobody left inside the room that would potentially come to and see her.

Once satisfied, she approaches the vault. She looks back a couple of times, and for a few she swears she hears footsteps. She’d stop and recollect herself before continuing until she stood in front of the opening, which had now closed slightly, casting a shadow on the angle that wasn’t lit up. Lapis leans against the heavy metal surface and takes a deep breath before poking her head in.

It’s empty except for a surgical table and a couple of tools tossed around carelessly. It was a mess. A tar-like liquid stained the floor like blood, except much more viscous and disgusting. She doesn’t gag, but does turn her nose at the smell of rust and burnt plastic. She slips between the vault and the frame and sneaks in; looking down at her feet to make sure she didn’t bump into anything. The further she walks the more tools she sees, some stained with that liquid. _Oil?_ No, too thick. Cables and wires cover the floor, most cut in sloppy ways, as if they had been ripped out. She feels a shiver crawl down her back and breathes deeply.

She sees it halfway in, lighting up a dark corner of the room which was darkened by a— _purposely?—_ shattered lamp; whatever _they_ wanted to lock up. She doesn’t notice it straight away, but eventually a faint glow of a light catches her eye. Bright, neon spheres, and there’s two of them. She squints but doesn’t make out a coherent silhouette; it’s laid on the ground, leaning against a wall, emitting this faint but steady rumbling noise. Suddenly the lights turn off and the sound stops. She takes the chance to creep closer until she sees it clearly now.

A body, human-like, but also like a trashed mannequin that’s been used one too many times lies on the corner half leaning against the wall. Lapis takes in the sight in front of her; it’s…definitely _not_ human. But it could’ve fooled her. The limbs are unfinished, and there are no metal sheets covering its wiring, but there’s…something within its ‘ribcage’. A sphere of some sort, she guesses an engine but she isn’t sure. Inching closer, she details its face, surprisingly _human_ ; quirky enough to pass as a person if it wasn’t for the metal-y shade and complexion, not the mention the _bizarre piece of glass buried in its forehead in the shape of an inverted pyramid._ There’s something definitely unsettling about it. Lapis reaches for the assemblage of scrap metal forming the ribcage and taps curiously at the sphere. It’s warm, so it worked at one point. All of a sudden, it roars to life with that same rumbling noise that growled moments ago. It makes Lapis jump back and get ready to run, but something keeps her.

Two eyes. _They were eyes._ The two green lights flicker on again and glow. Life comes to the body slowly, from its chest to the outside. Lights turn on all over its circuits until a faint glow emits from the glass like _thing_ in its forehead. She feels like she should run, get out and pretend this night didn’t happen, but she stays, curiosity beating reason. Whatever it is, it doesn’t move. It just sits there, giving off soft light and the sound of a fan spinning. _Perhaps breathing?_ She tears her eyes away from the machine’s face and looks down at the unfinished limbs. They weren’t unfinished. They were _torn off_. Cables ripped unevenly at the end of each extremity and metal scratched to unrecognition, the body really did look like a trashed mannequin.

Lapis’ eyes return to its face, this time she’s much closer, and her hands find their way to its cheeks. The metal is usually _warm_. She was expecting the cold of her bed, and the cold of the metal tiles in the dorms, but this metal is pleasantly warm. _Thermoelectric generator?_ _A radiator?_ Its eyes are absently lost in the wall, she can see a few lenses shifting every now and then, and attempting to focus, but the gaze is vacant. It wasn’t _alive._ She felt conflicted. How something that had the potential to be alive simply lied like an unused device. She almost felt pity.

She traces the bumps of the nails on the surface of the machine’s face, and the edges where the pieces were torched together. Something catches her eye. Scratch marks, dents, drops of that black liquid all over. Things you normally wouldn’t see in _new_ things. Assuming this was a work-in-progress and not some rubbish residue found in a waste bin. She doubted it. Despite its state, most of the metal seemed relatively recent. Unlike the type she used at her station, this one was only used to the creation of this—this being. The diamonds…they were playing with something they didn’t know. No wonder ‘Pearl’ refused to take any part of it.

And then it hits her. This was it. This was the prototype of what she was supposed to build.

_This_ was the weapon?

_Who makes a weapon that looks unsettlingly human?_

She thinks back to her conversation with Amethysts and Ruby, and to the one she heard earlier. They were testing the AI. _This_ was the AI. The AI that was unstable was resting in front of her, unchained, and working.

She needed to get out of there. And quick.

She hears footsteps approaching the vault, but her limbs don’t move. She’s frozen in place and suddenly she can’t feel the heat radiating from the body.

Lapis looks down at the machine one last time only to find those neon eyes looking back at her.

Her heart skips a beat.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

And she really, _really_ couldn’t agree more.


	3. Research Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Lapis faces the consequences of her actions, she finds out Amethyst simply has other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late update. I was getting my life together. Still not quite there yet but I'm trying. Hopefully the next chapters will come out in a more even pace.

She doesn’t hear the vault squeak open, or the footsteps clacking behind her. As if being underwater, she doesn’t breathe, doesn’t feel, doesn’t hear, afraid that any movement would send waves through the water and give out her presence. For once she doesn’t have a plan. The fear restrains her joints, solid ice reaching into the cavities of a machine and expanding the metal. Rigid and suffocating, she doesn’t notice when Citrine grabs her shoulders roughly and pushes her down into the cold metal floor. Lapis doesn’t fight back, allowing herself to be thrashed around like a doll, her eyes never leaving the dark corner when she’s dragged outside the vault.

Lapis avoids Amethyst’s concerned gaze when she’s taken straight to the solitary confinement keep, much too in shock to even feel remorse or embarrassment. The noise had of course been heard all throughout the facility, so the catwalk from the dorms to the bastille went everything but unnoticed. She couldn’t care less. It wasn’t the first time, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“What were you doing out of your cell?” _There was no sugarcoating it, was there?_ Blood drips down the side of her mouth and her cheeks are sore. Nonetheless she holds her tongue, both out of dignity and immense pride.

“Answer me!” Another strike to the face and Lapis can already feel her cheekbone cracking under the pressure. The only lamp in the room felt too hot, too bright, burning the only eye she could still use. She spits out the excess blood in her mouth and looks up at the officer from behind greasy bangs. She sneers, canines seeming sharper than they really are and grey eyes glistening under the fluorescent.

 

She spits on the ground near the other’s feet. “Eat shit.”

The fist never arrives.

“Jasper, that’s enough. At this rate she’ll be dead before noon.”

It was the doctor from the vault. She held onto Jasper’s fist in a tight grip, and Lapis presumes that she might have underestimated her. The woman known as Pearl lets go of the other’s arm and walks up to Lapis, looking down from the corner of her eye. She holds her head high, _snob_ is the only word Lapis can think of, but bites her tongue before she ruins her only chances of surviving.

“Lapis Lazuli.”

“Pearl.” She gnarls, almost turning her nose up at the way her name rolled out of the worker’s tongue. There was so much bile in it that it made Pearl bite the inside of her cheek and inhale. Lapis returns the gesture and a skeptical gaze follows the taller of the two around. A soft growl was beginning to form at the back of Lapis’ throat. Eventually she stops and looks down at her notes gripped to a clipboard. She doesn’t look at Lapis when she speaks;

“You are not to mention what you saw last night. As much as I’d love to throw you into that cubicle for the,” she flips through a few pages of what Lapis assumes is her profile and pauses, “fourth time now, we need everybody working to meet the quota.”

 

She waits.

“Fuck you.”

Pearl sighs.

 

“Jasper, take her to the mirror again. She’s about to beat the record.” Lapis’ shoulders roll with a shiver and her breath hitches in her throat. Jasper sees right through it and grins widely, like a vicious animal. “And please,” the officer turns her head to the doctor, raising an eyebrow, “don’t make a scene like last time.”

“Can’t make any promises.”

She has the path memorized, like everything in this forsaken facility, except familiarity doesn’t feel reassuring anymore. As she walks reluctantly towards the darkest parts of the keep she relives all the other times she had to make the same trip; sometimes worse than others. She could clearly remember a particularly _vivid_ image of her being dragged in the same direction. Lapis was fighting back with everything she had back then. To such was the extent of her wrath it required multiple hands to finally lock her up, and even then the howls could be heard all the way in the director’s office, which was located on the opposite end of the facility, away from the reality of the working place. Her voice was gone for weeks, months; she doesn’t remember how long the first stay was. Just long enough for her to come out calm. She stopped talking for a long time after that.

Nothing had changed. The repairs they said they were going to make were completely neglected. The walls were still dripping with moss and rust, and the tiles of the metal floor remained uneven and shattered. It wasn’t too different from the rest of the factory, just darker. The lightbulbs weren’t changed as often back here, and somewhere inside she was thankful for that. She’s also thankful that her escort wasn’t interested in starting a ‘casual’ conversation that only ended as condescending and utterly unnecessary. Rather odd, considering this was _Jasper_. She’d find her way to get on Lapis’ nerves, or strike a rather painful one she had wanted to forget.  Maybe her hopelessness was on full blast today. Or the officer was preparing a pep talk she wasn’t ready for. In any case, she preferred to eliminate any opportunity of her sharp tongue to get the best of her, and ultimately prolong her stay in the mirror.

“Ah, here we are. Aren’t you excited?” Lapis ignores Jasper’s sarcastic tone and comes to a full stop, eyes never leaving her feet.

“Hey, I’m talking to you.” Lapis looks up, grey eyes piercing through cold yellow. Jasper simply scoffs and works on the metal door to the so-called mirror. Lapis hated the place. It was a simple cell, except for the mirrors on the four walls. There was nothing to look at but yourself losing your sanity ever so slowly. At first it didn’t bother her. She found ways to ignore it, but gradually, she began making out shapes. It wasn’t a good time, and it wouldn’t be a good time now. She waits for Jasper to step away from the entrance and breathes in and out slowly. She could run. She could run and escape right now, and possibly activate every single damn alarm in the facility, and be chased by every guard, every machine, and every mindless worker looking for a reward. It was that simple. But she wasn’t as strong as she once was. She would stop, and she’d be caught again. It wasn’t worth it.

She walks in, glaring silently at her escort and chewing the inside of her cheek. She would get through this as many times as she had to.

* * *

 She isn’t surprised to find Amethyst lightly knocking on the door of her cubicle no more than two hours later, whispering her name.

“Lapis?” The girl in question shakes her head, convinced that it was nothing but a fragment of her imagination. She waits quietly on the other side of the door. “Oi, Lapis, you in there?” _Definitely Amethyst._

“Amethyst? What the hell are you doing here?”

“What do you think? I’m gettin’ you out!” She catches the rattling of metal and clacking of a bigger object being placed on the floor. It echoes down the hall and Lapis’ blood runs cold. “Just stay still and wait for my signal.”

“Signal? What are you talking about? Amethyst, wait-!” Soon enough, a loud _crack_ rings through the corridor and the lock collapses on the ground.

“Now!”

She slams the door with her weight and manages to force it out of its frame. When she pokes her head out, she sees Ruby stopping the door’s fall and slowly lowering it to the ground with a loud huff. The shorter girl acknowledges her, nodding her head and immediately turning her head to the hall.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“What? Did you expect me to just leave you there? Especially after what happened last night?” Lapis shakes her head and gives the other an exasperated smile. She was thankful of course, but this would make their situation worse. “Besides, now we have a reason to get the fuck out of this hell hole.”

_Right._ They were on the run now.

“There’s something we have to do first, though. It involves what I saw last night.” Amethyst’s eyes go wide for a second, but she only nods silently. “It’s better if I show you.”

“Lead the way, boss.”  

Lapis changes the route, fully aware that the original was now fully monitored. They were expecting her, so she takes the path to the dorms and stops in the same hallway she stopped the day before; the one with the patterned camera. She knew that she had a limited amount of time before it reactivates once it’s off. She couldn’t fuck it up. She leans against the wall and instructs the other two to do the same. They follow suit. Lapis sends a look to the camera moving above them, hoping they catch the drift. Once they do, she leans over and whispers what she knows. The camera would deactivate in a few for a watch change, and if she did everything right, they could get through the ventilation system at the end of the hall. All they needed to do was _watch_.

It takes ten minutes until the camera lowers its head briefly, giving them the cue they needed. She sprints down the room as quickly as her legs can carry her and kicks the cover of the vent, swiftly sliding inside like she had done back at the vault. Amethyst and Ruby follow after her, the latter placing the cover back on the vent and leaning away from the light. By the time they’re fully pressed inside the air duct they’re laughing and gasping for breath.

Once the laughter dies off Amethyst raises an eyebrow, “And how long have you been planning this for?”

“Longer than you’d think.”

“I didn’t exactly have a reason to use it. There’s nothing for me out there.” She crawls down the small path, almost holding her breath every time she hovered over another vent opening. Most lead to dorms, and she could see workers sleeping, while others worked on commissions. That was the only freedom they had; to do whatever they wanted _within_ the cells. Leaving would result in punishment that would worsen depending on how often it happened. In Lapis’ case, the next punishment wouldn’t be pleasant. Eventually she reached the area of the facility she was looking for; the transition from metal to marble. As expected, there were actual guards keeping watch this time—both bored out of their mind, and she couldn’t blame them.

“Well now what?” Lapis looks around, hoping to get a glimpse of another vent to jump down from. “Oh, never mind. Ruby’s way ahead of us.”

“What?” Indeed, the impatient girl was already hopping down from the ventilation system and making her way towards the guards. “What is she doing?!” Lapis stares flabbergasted, formulating a million different ways to stop her friend. At last she sighs; breathing in deeply and closing her eyes. Off in the distance, Ruby scans the corridor, spotting a second vent up ahead, on the opposite direction of the vault, and near an abandoned machine. She cracks her knuckles and sprints, stopping shortly after reaching the furnace and inspecting the metallic surface. A single hit makes the iron resonate loudly, the sound filling every corner of the hallway, and down the facility. She swiftly climbs into the vent above her head one more time and hides after successfully catching the attention of the guards. As expected said guards hastily make their way towards the source of the noise, leaving the corridor to the vault vacant.

“Well, that’s _one_ way to do it.” Lapis turns her head towards the vent Ruby was hiding in, frowning slightly; there was no time for them to look for her. “She’ll be fine. Let’s keep going.” Amethyst places a—somewhat—reassuring hand on her shoulder, but it does nothing to ease the knot in her gut that kept tightening.

She jumps down, Amethyst following after her, and pushes herself against the wall like she had done the night before. This time there was no light emitting from the bottom of the hatch, so the hallway remained pitch-black. By the time they reach the end of the corridor the guards are back in their place, completely unaware of their presence.

“I thought you said it would be open?”

“I don’t understand…why wouldn’t they continue?” She taps the vault experimentally. It was open. But… _nobody was inside?_ “They must’ve left it open by accident?”

“Smells like a trap to me.”

“Hmm…” Against her better judgment, Lapis steps inside, only to find the lab clean.

“They must’ve moved the research lab to avoid getting caught again.”

“So they _were_ expecting us after all.” They make their way further in, relishing in the neatness and complexity of it all. Lapis could make out the color of the tiles this time; they were light green. The vault is closed behind them, surely locked, but they pay it no mind. When they walk out of the shadows Amethyst hears Lapis from the other room;

“It’s still here!” _It?_ In the second room, far in the back was a single light visible; the soft glow of an old flashlight Lapis was holding.

“Where’d you get that?”

“There’s a room full of supplies here, check it out.” She was right. There was scrap metal everywhere, along with tools and papers. Nothing related to what Lapis saw. Not that she paid much mind to it all anyways. Though she was certain there were enough things to blow up the entire facility. “I know what you’re thinking, so no. This isn’t what we came for.”

“A’w, come on. That chunk of metal is probably not even here anymore. Let’s recapitulate and bail.” Lapis slaps her hand away when she reaches for a crowbar, but freezes right afterwards.

“What is it?” She remains silent, staring at the doorway to the furthermost room. There’s a soft light coming out of it; it flickers softly, like the blinking light of a camera or an eye. Quick enough to miss. She doesn’t hesitate to walk up to the door, careful with where she placed her steps in case there was any of that strange substance on the floor. This room is even darker, messier, like a garbage lot. She recognizes the smell immediately and her grey eyes adjust to the darkness; the flashlight only did so much. And there it was. The soft rumbling was still there, along with the spinning fan,

“What the fuck is that.” Amethyst stands in the doorway, squinting.

“This is what I saw last night.”

“What are you waiting for? Shine the light on it, I wanna’ see its face!” The shorter girl leaps excitedly, reaching for the flashlight. Lapis pulls it away from the other’s grasp and glares.

“No! What if it’s sensitive to light?”

“So? It’s not like it’s gonna last long anyways. Not without repairs. Look at it! It’s leaking oil everywhere!” She reaches for the tar-like substance dripping from the walls and Lapis doesn’t have the heart to warn her.

“That’s not oil” She informs her nonchalantly, too busy staring at the figure in the corner.

“Gross. Then what the hell is it?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.”

“Fair.” Lapis gradually moves the flashlight towards the corner, closer to the light coming from the bundle of cables. After a while, getting no negative response, she moves the light closer to the machine’s face. She notices a few changes; the oil stains were gone, and the scratches were nearly fixed. It didn’t make any sense, why would a project that would most likely be abandoned have more process made? She finally reaches the mannequin’s face with the light; it almost looks peaceful, if—well—it wasn’t technically _dead_ . There was something about that face that drew her in. Maybe it was the expression of utter defeat that could still be read motionless. Or maybe that it was almost…charming in a twisted and morbid way. Who would make a weapon so physically appealing? _Was it even meant to be a weapon at all?_ Her thoughts are cut short by the sudden flare of the lights turning on and an old generator coming to light with a roar.

“Amethyst!”

“God, you sound like Pearl.” The other tinkers with a mess of cables near a power source in the other corner of the room; one of those large cords plugged into a box that sounds like someone’s dying of pneumonia. She was familiar with them, but not entirely, though she knew Amethyst was more experienced in the field. “Check it, I think I fixed it.” Indeed, the heart-like device Lapis noticed the first night was lighting up again.

She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing.

“I don’t know what to do now” Whatever Lapis had seen that day was definitely on now, or at least still working. She was sure it was capable of speech too, considering the last memory she had before she got caught.

“I know how to get it to work.” She takes tentative steps towards the machine—she was still uncomfortable referring to it as ‘it’. She stops about a meter away and drops to her knees, almost at eye-level—sort of. She could detail the face and ridges again; nothing had changed too much, except for the details in the—was it _hair?_ She wasn’t sure. More like an impression of wild hair standing in every possible direction. Lapis almost touches it, but hesitates, hand dropping to her side.

“Well? I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work on brainwaves.” She ignores Amethyst, focusing on the task at hand. The blue-haired worker spots the nucleus and reaches for it slowly, feeling the heat emanating from its surface. Her palm rests on the disks—they were warm, but not as warm as they were before, probably due to the fact it had just begun to spin. Gently, she turns her palm, repositioning the separate disks forming the sphere until they click into place, a soft light letting her know she had done at least something right.

“Huh, that’s a strange mechanism. Awfully inconvenient too.” It wasn’t necessarily archaic, but certainly different from what new machines used. No switched or levers could be seen throughout the body. Almost as if… _it was never meant to be turned off._ It made sense, in a way. The only lifeline it had was the long cord attached to its midsection. If it was removed, and it could somehow still function, there would be nothing to turn it off.

What was its purpose anyways?

“Hello? Earth to Lapis? The ‘thing’ is not on yet. You sure you know what you’re doing?” That snaps her out of her thoughts, and a frown forms on her face. She looks down at the hand resting on the sphere. It got warmer by the second, turning its inner rings consistently, a faint ‘tick-tock’ could be heard within its circuits. The gem-like decoration on its forehead glowed softly, though not as much as it had done the night before. The fan also spun slower.

“I’m not sure what’s wrong. This is exactly what I did last time…”

“Huh, must be even more trashed, then.” She heaved a sigh, closing her eyes and almost washing away the mild disappointment eating away at her gut.

“Let’s go. We have to get Ruby.”

She goes to lift her hand but something pulls at her arm. She looks down.

A group of bone-like fingers were hanging loosely around her wrist.

“Holy shit.” She hears a short intake of breath; it’s shaky and almost controlled, and it takes every little bit of willpower to stop herself from breaking free and throwing herself back against the wall, alerting every single person within a five-hundred meter radius. “Lapis don’t move.” She rolls her eyes, _gee_ _thanks_. She’s frozen in place, unable to look away from the fingers tightening around her wrist—it isn’t painful; like a child holding onto someone’s hand for the first time, testing its strength. She’s afraid to look up, fear biting at her muscles until she can’t help but do just that and finds neon green staring back at her silently and almost lazily; spheres focusing unevenly, like the lens of a camera, reflecting the same uneasy expression of panic and confusion, but not really. It takes minutes, but they gradually focus on her and then go wide. The expression is surprisingly human.

“It’s you.”                                                                                                                                                                        

And that’s all it takes for her to rip her arm away from the machine’s grip and jump back; the hairs on the back of her neck stand and goosebumps rise all over her skin. This was definitely _not_ normal.

“It…spoke?”

“Am I not supposed to?” The machine’s eyes dance frantically around the room, easily adjusting to the brash light of the room’s fluorescent lighting, and finally landing on the girl in front of it. It tilts its head and blinks. “What are you doing here?” Lapis remains silent for a while, nearly signally Amethyst to make a run for it, but instead finds her reading a file attentively.

“So Peridot, huh?” The machine responds almost immediately; eyes glowing faintly and posture going rigid—with the little limbs it had left. It turns to watch Amethyst discreetly, as if it were waiting for something, or a command of sorts. Lapis sits in awe, unable to tear her gaze away from the figure in front of her, while Amethyst raises an eyebrow, catching up rather quickly. It was programmed to follow orders, it seemed. “So that _is_ your name.”

“Facet-2FL. Cut-5XG” There’s a sudden change in the machine’s voice. It goes from child-like wonder to complete monotone. The appearance changes with it too, eyes going hard and especially focused, almost unresponsive. Amethyst flips through the file, the sound of shuffling papers reaching every corner of the room.

“That’s right. Peridot is just your model, isn’t it?” Peridot remains unresponsive. Something was wrong. Confusion clouded her judgement. She looks at Amethyst but only finds the same blank expression.

“So there’s more of you?”

“Yes. Not here, though.”

“Do you know what you were made for?” Lapis’ mouth hangs open. How could she be so calm about this? Amethyst seems to read her thoughts and grins, turning back to the automation in front of her. “Or rather, do you know what you’re here for?”

“Yes. I’m meant to replace you.”

Amethyst is the first to show her concerns. Her eyes go wide and her grin is wiped off her face, like a cloud had just appeared in the field of view, a storm threatening to approach. Teeth dig into the inside of her bottom lip and Lapis has a hard time keeping her discernible distress from becoming more apparent. What did this mean for her? For everyone trapped inside the factory?

“Are you alright? You seem a little pale.” The statement is directed at her, so Lapis swings her head at Peridot’s direction. She finds her looking back curiously, tilting her head to the side like she did before. She doesn’t say anything regarding the machine’s observation; for she was much too in shock to come up with a coherent answer.

“Amethyst we need to leave.”

“We can’t just ditch them—”

“They’re going to die anyways—”

“ _They are going to kill them,_ Lapis. Every single person in this building is going to die to be replaced with-with _that._ ” For the first time in a while Lapis truly looks at Amethyst. She takes in her appearance as if it was the first time she had seen the girl; the wild bleached hair pulled up in a ponytail threatening to burst, the sun-kissed skin that somehow always managed to stay tanned after all these years underground, fierce eyes that were such a deep shade of amber they looked purple. All of these things amplified. She really wasn’t going to back down. She would not leave just like that. She admired that, but she knew it would bite her in the ass someday.

“Or you could destroy me.”

 

Wait.

What?

 

“What did you just say?” Lapis turns away from Amethyst’ defiant gaze and finds Peridot looking at her, seemingly interested.  She had been broken from the monotony of her programmed waiting and was back to her curious, almost bored expression. As if she was trying to make some logical explanation for their situation. Such a calculating gaze was unnerving. Lapis felt as if she was being studied, like the robot being tested here was her and not Peridot, the machine currently resting on the ground in pieces. It made her feel insignificant.

“You could destroy me.”

For a moment, her own gears begin to turn, joining the whole symphony of sounds coming from Peridot’s hardware. She considers her options once, twice, almost three times before the voice in her head gets too loud, too obnoxious. She comes to a conclusion, but Peridot beats her to it, words dying in her throat.

“But it won’t do much of anything. They will make more. You will just be delaying the inevitable.” She shrugs, uninterested. “Unless of course, you delete every existing file in the archives, but that would only delay the process of construction. The copies are already out.” Lapis’ shoulders drop with the weight of realization, and she scratches the back of her neck; thinking. They really couldn’t do anything about the situation.

“Well, that does it. We can’t do anything about them _right now._ But we can figure something out when we get out. For now, our main concern is to escape and _not_ die.” Lapis doesn’t have to turn to know that Amethyst is already gathering everything she can to leave the facility. A wave of uncertainty washes over her. She had a choice. She could escape with the things in this room that much was true, but it would only be a matter of time before _they_ went looking for her. The perimeter was vast around the factory; she could make out distant watchtowers every time she looked out the window, hidden in the mist, watching like giants above them. With luck they would make it by sunrise, but by then they’d be caught in bright daylight. Their options were limited.

Lapis sinks to her knees, breath uneven and eyes travelling from Peridot to the door hastily. She felt trapped; _confused_.

“There you are! I was looking for—what the hell is that?!” Amethyst runs to clasp a hand over Ruby’s mouth in an attempt to silence her. Ruby’s expression remains troubled, but significantly less panicked, which surprises Lapis. Apparently, the other two smiths were much better at dealing with eccentricities than she was.

“It’s fine. She’s a service one.”

“She?”

“Hello.” The shorter girl steps back, but waves silently nonetheless, still processing the situation. “And I’m not a _service_ machine. I’m a technician.” Her tone changes drastically. She sounds annoyed, almost _insulted_ even. How could they even imply that she was of that sort? Lapis hums, skeptical of the fact Peridot seemed to be… _changing._ She pushes the thought to the back of her head quickly, deeming it as a problem for another day. Amethyst ponders for a second and nods. She closes the file in her hands.

“We can’t destroy it.” She simply states, not bothering to open her eyes.

“What? Why not?”

“She was created here to replace us. She has more knowledge of the facility than any of us, and has no free will. She’s our exit ticket.”

Peridot stays quiet the entire time, completely unaffected by the fact her fate was currently being decided for her.

“—you’re forgetting a small detail,” Ruby chimes in, deciding her own shock had lasted long enough, “she’s missing pretty much every limb.” The blue-haired smith looks over; Ruby was right. She was pretty much unmovable from her current spot; unfinished and strapped against the wall—were those chains always there?

“In any case, we need to decide now, dawn is getting nearer.”

The shorter smiths nod to each other. It was Lapis’ turn to decide.

She decides she’s had enough of this forsaken place.

“Peridot,” the machine turns towards her, waiting with those eyes that she knows should be menacing but instead she finds them honest, loyal, innocent—not to mention incredibly analytical. The many things that were taken from her the day she arrived. “You know a way out of here, don’t you?” The machine nods, blinking. Lapis assumes she’s waiting for a command. “You will guide us out of this facility, do you understand?” Lapis’ harsh tone strikes a nerve in the technician. She goes rigid again and attempts to follow through with the command, but the chains hold her torso in place and rattling fills the room.

“I’ll take care of that.” Ruby says, taking tentative steps towards Peridot, this time much more confident on her movements. She picks up the chain from the ground and pulls, a single tug is enough to rip the anchor from the wall, making it drop to the ground and freeing the chain. With it goes Peridot’s limited mobility. “That will do.”

“Now, about those limbs…”

“I have the prototype’s back in the dorm.” Lapis gives Amethyst an incredulous look. “We should stop by on our way out.”

“Are you insane? Do you want to run around the facility with a stolen piece of machinery?!”

“I don’t see the problem.” She lets out an exasperated sigh but reluctantly gives in. She walks up to the unfinished machine and kneels down to eye-level again. She still has trouble looking into Peridot’s eyes, but she pushes through the feeling to get her point across.

“Here, just…don’t move.” She whispers, snaking a hand around Peridot’s waist and another under her knees—or whatever was left of them. She struggles momentarily until she adjusts to the weight of the machine. Whatever Peridot was made of, was heavy enough to sink a ship. “Are you sure you weren’t made to pull oil pumps?”

“That is one of my functions.”

“Fascinating.” There was something inexplicably human about those glass spheres that stared back at her; Peridot was definitely one of the many secrets the facility was hiding. She holds her tightly against her chest, feeling the heat radiating from the technician’s core. There was something else, though.

“Do we just unplug her?” Lapis weighs her options. All she needed her for was to get out, right?

“Do it.” The plug comes off with a cloud of steam that is rather short-lived, and then it falls against the ceramic tiles of the lab. It resonates with a ‘clang’ that bounces of the walls and rings until it becomes inaudible.

Peridot remains conscious, and that’s all Amethyst needs to pick up every tool lying around. The last thing she picks up is the rusty crowbar Lapis had glared at. This time Lapis says nothing.

 

They don’t notice the turning disks within Peridot’s core, and how a certain number drops from twenty-eight to twenty-seven.


	4. A Reason to Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis wonders if the blisters in the hands are really worth it while the other two horse play their way out of captivity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a consistent writer I swear! Do not let my past updates fool you!

As she crawls into a secret tunnel below the floor of the laboratory, Lapis comes to the conclusion that maybe she didn't know the factory as good as she thought she did. She's also very thankful that years of metal working and rigorous sea diving had prepared her sore muscles for carrying heavy weights for long periods of time, because otherwise she'd really be having a hard time right now.

"Turn left here." She looks back to see Peridot's head resting on her shoulder, arms—or what's left of them—trying to hold onto Lapis' shoulders as she rests against her back. At first they had wandered around the small lab looking for supplies, openings, evidence, and it was simply easier to carry the droid in her arms, but the moment the escape vent was revealed, their position had to be changed. The new position was rather...strange for the smith. She felt as if she was carrying an empty suit of armor on her back; rigid and motionless, but at the same time _alive_. Peridot shifted her grip, unfinished limbs slumping against Lapis' shoulder blades and hips, breath warm behind her ear. That was weird too. It wasn't exactly breathing per say, but it appeared that way. The gentle rise and fall of a person's chest was absent, and the softness of skin and hair was replaced by the harshness of metal plates. At least it wasn't cold. "Wait."

Lapis stops immediately, shivering at the steam blowing behind her ear. "There's a watchman here."

"Is it daytime already? I can't tell."

"It is 4:27 AM." Peridot informs quietly, Amethyst frowns.

"That's the first time I've heard that term in a while..." Lapis agrees silently, observing the area around them; there's a vent below the surface of her hands that presses the solid grid into her palm, drawing a pattern on her skin. She breathes out when the droid reassures her to continue. She catches an ominous shadow shifting in the room underneath and comes to a full stop a couple of minutes later, kicking the vent cover open with her foot and climbing down from it. When she's safely on the ground she looks up at Ruby who drops the motionless machine onto Lapis' arms, following after her only after a few seconds. The last one to come down is Amethyst, who carried a bag filled with supplies and took the time to close the vent again.

"Where to?" She whispers after landing on her feet.

"There's a corridor to our left. It should lead to the waste disposal. That will take us outside the facility." Peridot's head turns to the opposite direction, "Your dorms are _that_ way."

"How does that even make sense?"

"Don't question the structure of this facility. Just listen to the talking compass."

"I believe that's called a GPS."

"Oh, great! Was sass downloaded into it as well?" Lapis frowns, looking down at the being in her arms. A small grin was plastered on her face. She doesn't question the sudden change and simply watches as Amethyst rushes towards the right corridor, footsteps disappearing in the distance.

"So..." The blue-haired smith observes her shorter companion. Ruby shifted from foot to foot. She awkwardly cracked her neck and kept her head towards the ground, clearly uncomfortable with the thick tension in the air.

"You sure you want to do this?" Lapis finally breaks the silence; her voice comes out tired like an inaudible whisper. Ruby catches it nonetheless. She doesn't look at the other girl when she speaks, choosing instead to fix her gaze upon the darkening corridor to the left. She barely catches the ghost of doubt flashing over Ruby's face but presses on, "If we leave, you won't see Sapphire again." There's this pang of hurt that makes Ruby flinch, eyes going wide and fists tightening, and it almost makes Lapis feel bad.

"We'll come back for her, won't we?" Lapis is met with a determined look that lit the other's amber eyes on fire. A flame so intense she's forced to look away for a brief moment and breathe out. "We need to come back for them." Ruby affirms again, a little more certain this time.

"I—"

"We gotta move, right now!" Lapis doesn't have to turn to know that something was wrong, so she simply grips Peridot closer and runs.

Halfway down the hall the shock diminishes and her senses return like a wave crashing against her ears.

There's barking and footsteps echoing down the hall and her peripheral vision is assaulted by the harsh florescent lightbulbs of flashlights. She turns around for a fraction of a second and her muscles tense around the machine in her arms. A whistle blows and she turns back to the front, pushing her legs to move quicker.

"Amethyst, what did you do?!" The accusation goes unsaid, a silent scream expressed through clenched teeth and livid irises. Lapis' breath hitches, getting shorter with every step she made and her muscles screamed for rest. When the adrenaline rush runs out she's breathing in and out, panting, and her lungs burn with each harsh intake of air and for a moment she forgets she's not alone.

"Turn here, the path deviates, you will be able to lose them." She almost doesn't catch Peridot's voice, but it brings her back to her senses. Lapis blinks and looks down to find determined green, not looking at her, but looking straight forward, irises scanning the path frantically. She swallows and turns sharply, throwing her weight to the right and landing with her back against the ground. Ruby and Amethyst look at each other before nodding and throwing themselves to the side after the blue-haired smith.

The new path rests a meter or two beneath the main corridor, extending itself perpendicular to it and continuing on into the blackness of it all. They inch away from the gridded corridor above them, towards the dark, and watch as the footsteps rush over them, boots clanking against the metal surface and continuing forward. When the noise lessens in the distance Lapis slumps back against the metal wall and breathes in. She almost forgets about the being resting against her. Not a word is said, only the heavy breathing fills the aisle, until Amethyst drops her load carelessly on the ground, the objects inside rattling like bones. The girl stretches her shoulders, sore from the weight. Neither Ruby nor Lapis have enough energy to protest or pry.

"I got the stuff'." She says calmly, mimicking some shitty accent and hunching her shoulders like a criminal. Lapis rolls her eyes.

"You also got half ‘a factory looking' for us, thanks."

"My pleasure," Amethyst bows dramatically and almost doesn't dodge the fist coming her way. "Do you by any chance have pain receptors, Peri?" Lapis' gaze alternates between the droid and her co-worker. _Peri?_

"Not as elevated as your own."

"Are you calling' me a wuss?"

"Amethyst _please_."

Lapis unconsciously pulls Peridot closer to her chest. Losing their only exit ticket due to a mild offence would be highly inconvenient. The machine doesn't seem to mind. Not that she have any means to protest.

"Where to _now_?" The weight doesn't bother her anymore. Neon eyes watch her patiently, until they shift over her head and scan their surroundings.

"There's a connection to the upper hallway somewhere down this hall, but my map has not been updated."

"Fantastic."

"Your fault for getting' caught." The blue-haired worker places the droid down against the wall and stretched her muscles. She can feel a pair of eyes on her but shrugs it off as she reaches for Amethyst's bag.

"What did you bring?" She asks. Her voice is hoarse from misuse.

"Couple' of parts n' tools."

"Amethyst..." She reaches inside and catches something with quite the odd shape. She clenches her teeth when her fingers wrap around the device tightly. "...where did you get this?"

A small communicator rested on Lapis' palm, a nasty frown plastered on her face.

"Pearl's office."

"So you _are_ insane!" The shorter smith brings up her fingers as if she were holding a grape.

"Just a little. I'm in treatment."

"Was Pearl's ass in the prescription?"

"You bet it was."

"You can't be serious." Lapis turns the device in her hands and examines it carefully. It didn't weight much but it was certainly more valuable than everything they had in their possession at the moment; except for perhaps Peridot or at least the droid’s motherboard if the system indeed followed the normal mechanisms of a computer. Though judging by the power gimmick, it seemed like she was something out of a vintage article. The intercom had a long range, Lapis knew that much, judging by the size of the facility, but she didn’t really think how useful it’d be once _outside_ of said facility. “You will not activate it until we’re safely outside of this place. For all we know that think might have some sort of beeper or whatnot.”

“How do we know _she_ doesn’t have one buried deep in the nape of her neck?”

“We’ll just destroy her when we leave the facility and dump her remains in some ditch.”

“Way to put it lightly.”

“What? Already getting attached to her, riptide queen?” Lapis swallows her words at that. After all, she was the one that didn’t hesitate to leave everyone for dead. Thinking of Peridot as anything more than a mean to escape was not appropriate, and would only complicated things. She shakes her head.

“No, but maybe we shouldn’t talk so casually when said person is lying only a couple of feet away.” Amethyst turns her head in the direction of the droid. Peridot’s gaze was fixed on the grid above them, eyes unmoving; almost as in ‘standby’ mode. “I’m still not entirely convinced where her loyalties lie.”

“Do you think she might’ve been set up to follow pre-programmed commands?”

“I don’t know, but we should keep the intercom as far away as possible.”  Lapis hands the communicator to Amethyst, and walks back to where Peridot was. She stands hovering over her, eyes cold and rigid. It takes only a moment until green focuses on her and waits. “We have to keep moving. You’re our guide.”

Peridot nods, eyes blinking for a moment before emitting a soft green light that lit up the rest of the corridor only faintly. It’s bright enough for them to see now. Lapis kneels down in front of the machine and holds the other’s gaze. There’s a moment of hesitation in Peridot’s part, but eventually her facial expression softens. Lapis nods her head and turns around, waiting for the other to climb on her back. Peridot struggles momentarily, but manages to wrap her forearms around Lapis’ neck and her thighs around her waist. The smith waits to get accustomed to the weight before rising up and settling a stable grip on the droid. “Alright. Your call.”

“Proceed in that direction.” The droid’s voice is back to that monotone, drone-like tone that reminds her of the speakers of the factory. They announced schedule changes and events, but the words themselves were always prerecorded by a machine. It was the same every time. She really hoped this wasn’t the case for the droid; otherwise the monotony would kill her. Or she might kill the droid. For a moment she thought of fixing up Peridot’s limbs but thought against it. The metal was too heavy and loud. They would catch them in a heartbeat. She was also suspicious of the machine’s abilities. For all she knew the limbs they built for the prototypes were stronger than they thought. She could handle carrying her for the time being, at least until it was strictly necessary for her to move on her own. Amethyst swings the bag over her shoulder and makes her way towards them, followed by Ruby, who still remained mildly skeptical of their decision to keep the robot around. She couldn’t blame her. Even she was beginning to have her doubts.

* * *

 She doesn’t know how long it takes for them to get back on the main floor of the factory. Peridot assures them it has only been two hours but they’ve grown unaccustomed to the concept of time. That meant that it was daytime already. There’s a metal door at the end of the hallway that supposedly leads to a set of stairs up into the main corridor. Why this hallway was created, Peridot isn’t sure, but she assumes that the facility was built onto something bigger before it became what it is. When they reach the door Lapis stops only meters away. She looks back at Ruby, who nods and walks up to the handle and pulls. Unsurprisingly it’s locked.

“Of course.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Amethyst drops her bag and pulls out the crowbar from the laboratory, “told you it would come in handy at some point.” Lapis ignores her, scanning the doorframe and making sure there was no alarm connected to the gate. She motions her to continue and stands back. Amethyst sticks the crowbar in between the door and its frame and motions Ruby to take over. “You’ll do it quicker.”

“Yeah, right.”

“That crowbar will be deemed unusable.” Before Lapis can finish the door is flung open violently in her direction and is stopped by the same person that cracked it open. Ruby tosses the undamaged crowbar nonchalantly, walking inside and making her way upstairs. “Or not.”

“Impressive.” That’s the first thing she’s heard Peridot say in a while. She doesn’t turn her head, simply huffing and walking in after Ruby.

“We all have our defects. Some are just taken advantage of.”

“Hmph.” She stays silent after that, pondering softly over Lapis’ words probably.

Lapis looks up at the staircase in front of her. It’s continues on for a least twelve floors more. She knows she only has to go up to the next, but she can’t help but wonder what the rest of the floors lead to. All of this seemed so new. Everything she knew was only a small section of the entire factory. What if there were more people than she had previously estimated? What if she had spent all of those centuries unaware of an entire system of tunnels underneath the structure? Lapis shakes her head. No point in thinking about it now. Her priority was to get out there alive, and her chances had already dropped exponentially the moment Amethyst stole the intercom.

“Hey, Peridot.” She feels the droid’s head turn towards her. “What’s beyond this floor?” Peridot’s head moves around, eyes probably browsing the walls. There’s a sudden shock of steam that hit the back of Lapis’ head, making her almost drop the machine. “What was that?!” She grabs the droid by the collar and pushes her against the wall. “Answer me!”

Peridot doesn’t respond. Her body contracts and convulses in an erratic seizure. Sparks flare across her vision briefly, until her head crashes and collapses against Lapis’ shoulder. Lapis figures the shock wasn’t an attack but some sort of circuit cut and holds onto Peridot to check for damage. “Amethyst, Ruby!” Way above, their heads look down from the railing and catch a glimpse of Peridot’s dangling body.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing! She just collapsed!” Amethyst rushes over and takes Peridot’s face in her hands, examining her features. “It must’ve been some inner issue. Can’t exactly check now, though.”

“We need her to reboot, how else are we going to get out?” Ruby jogs up and looks through the small tainted window of the metal door leading to the main hallway. “This doesn’t look familiar.”

“Have you tried doing that thing you did back at the lab?”

Lapis shakes her head, “I thought she was attacking me at first. The contact with the wall must have overwhelmed her.” She snakes her hand around the droid and gets a hold of her ‘ribcage’. Her hand touches the ‘heart’ and turns; the disks roar to life and begin to spin. “That should do it.” There’s a clicking noise coming from the sphere but it’s soon drowned out by Peridot’s loudly spinning fan. Her eyes open once more and it takes a couple of minutes until the rebooting is over and the green returns to her irises. They shift around automatically, focusing in an out until they go wide and her form curls into itself. “Peridot, can you hear me?”

The machine nods slowly.

“Are you in pain?”

She nods once more. Lapis sighs. “Can you still guide us through the facility?” There’s one last nod. Peridot’s face is contorted into a painful grimace. _So you do have pain receptors._ “Do you remember what happened to you?”

“You asked me to see beyond the upper floors.”

“Yes, and?”

“I saw nothing. My perception went blurry and—Ngh!”  She doubles over in pain, and Lapis holds onto her shoulders. Peridot’s eyes flash on and off rapidly for only a second and then she’s back to normal. “They’ve planted beta blockers in this specific area of the map. I can’t access it.”

“Huh, so they don’t trust you? Even though they _created_ you?”

“Well, they weren’t exactly expecting her to roam freely outside of that room.” Lapis begins to wonder if it was really a good idea to bring a prototype AI along. There was certainly a reason why Peridot was chained to the wall even though she was missing limbs. Lapis’ gaze alternates between Amethyst’s bag and the machine resting against her shoulder. Eventually she would have to put her back together—her arms were getting tired, after all. She couldn’t carry her all the way out, but she had no other choice.

“Let’s keep going, the guards are already looking for us.” Peridot is repositioned on Lapis’ back and they make their way upstairs, Lapis paying close attention to the machine’s state. If she didn’t try to access the blocked areas she would not go into shock again. She knew it was more of a selfish thought, considering the shock had travelled through her body as well. She kept her mind high and moved to the front, stopping only in front of that metal door that divided the staircase from the main hallway. She looks through the tainted window and sees an empty hall with doors to the side. Almost like a hospital in a way. Much different than the basement where they were kept in. She looks back at Peridot who gives her a nod and she pushes the door handle. It’s open this time, but she doesn’t have enough time to marvel at the thought. The lights were on, so there was nowhere to hide. Amethyst gives her this surprised look; _Well? What now? You want to run across the hall looking for an exit?_

“This hallway hasn’t been monitored in ages. You may move freely.” The smith relaxes along with her companions. Lapis looks around; the walls were stained maroon, and the tiles were chipped and scratched from lack of maintenance, at least, so she assumed. The smell of iodine filled her nostrils; it was a rather unfamiliar scent. Very rarely did she receive proper care for her wounds in the factory. But whenever it was critical and strictly necessary the officers would never consider wasting more than half a bottle on a worker. It was quiet too, strangely so. The objects in the bag bounced somewhat loudly against Amethyst’s back. Steam exited Peridot’s exhaust pipes evenly with a faint hiss. She wonders how she hadn’t noticed that noise before. Perhaps it was her constant heart beating away in her ears, blood pumping unimaginably fast. Now that she could relax she was able to pay attention to everything once again. The flat of her foot felt the cold tiles and she could feel blisters begin to form where she held onto the machine’s cavities. It wasn’t pleasant in the least, but she could manage considering what she had gone through for over a century. The cold temperature was a pleasant change too, it allowed her muscles to relax, but it also reminded her that she was in unfamiliar territory and as safe as Peridot deemed it to be there was always the possibility of getting caught.

“Do you know what this was supposed to be?” She whispers quietly to her right.

“A medical center for the experiments. A project abandoned ages ago.” For some reason Lapis finds that explanation reasonable. She had seen so many strange things today that another one wouldn’t hurt.

“How do you know this?”

“I spoke with those that built me for quite a while.”

“Pearl and Citrine?”

“Mostly Citrine, Pearl refused to speak to me.” Lapis hums. A plausible reaction from the overly skeptical scientist. Doctor? She wasn’t sure anymore. Surely inventor, or something along those lines. “I suppose they didn’t think I’d live this long to tell anyone else.”

“Did they say they were going to destroy you?”

“Not directly, but I assumed as much.”

“Does it not bother you at all?” Peridot goes silent after that. Lapis turns her head and finds her looking straight forward. There’s an emotion she can’t quite pinpoint playing around the edges of her face. Maybe it’s the fact that she can’t fully see her face or that she’s tired, but it almost looks dazed. She decides not to push it. The droid’s state was as fragile as it could be, for all she knew another mental strain would result in another breakdown.

“How long until we reach the disposal?” Ruby catches up to them and slows down to a stroll.

“Longer than before, considering we deviated from the original path.”

“Didn’t you say this was the same path?”

“It is. Technically. It just rests above.” Ruby accepts the explanation, too tired to make sense out of it, or question the machine. Lapis does too, too exhausted to protest. Amethyst on the other hand looks unconvinced, but does not say whatever lies in her head. The walk is a rather long one, and every now and then Lapis stops to inspect the windows of the hospital rooms. Some have objects blocking the view; like a chair or a table, but those that don’t are clearly unkempt and in a way, utterly destroyed. The sheets of the beds were torn and smudged, and the walls had cracks, holes, and random scratches. It’d be eerie if the metalworker wasn’t so unfazed by most things. They continue on for a while until they reach an area of the corridor where the lights flicker inconsistently. The lightbulbs flickered on and off with a faint ticking noise that made Lapis’ eye twitch. The closer she got the more she realized that she was no longer stepping on regular tiles. Water had begun to pool around her ankles.

When she looks down she finds the edges of her pants soaking in water.

“What the fuck is this?” Amethyst quickly steps away from the water and looks around, clearly startled.

“The pipes must’ve collapsed from internal damage.” Lapis observes calmly. She wasn’t as affected as her companions when it came to water. She was used to it, but she hesitated to move forward, remembering the weight resting against her back. She comes to a stop and looks back at Peridot.

“Are you waterproof?”

“I don’t know.”

“Not going to risk it.” She walks backwards, afraid to accidently fry the robot’s circuits.

“Amethyst, hold her.”

“What, no—”

“Just do it.” She drops Peridot in Amethyst’s arms and goes to remove her turnout coat. The cool breeze hits her arms immediately and she shivers. Now in only a black tank-top Lapis could feel how cold the corridor was; much colder than the rooms back at the factory. She turns around to face the droid and pulls the jacket over her shoulders just enough to cover the ribcage and essentially its vitals. Satisfied, she turns around and waits for Amethyst to place Peridot back where she was. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” She rolls her eyes when the other worker fakes a grimace and sticks her tongue out. “We should be able to cross that now.” Lapis walks back towards the end of the corridor, or at least, the area with the flickering lights and tries her best to avoid the falling drops coming from the broken pipes. The water level rises the farther she walks until it reaches her knees, successfully drenching her pants. She hears Ruby yelp after nearly slipping and Amethyst laughs. She shushes them and continues walking.

“This corridor might not be monitored but that doesn’t mean you can just be loud.”

“Sorry, mom.” She hears Ruby snort and sends her a glare. It’s no threat but she figures she’s the most mature out of the three and their situation wasn’t exactly fit for horse playing. Much to her dismay the flickering lightbulb blows up halfway down the hall and she’s forced to rely on the lights at the back corridor and Peridot’s faint but unchanging eyes.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” She speeds up her pace, careful with her bare feet from stepping in something that could potentially ruin the rest of their escape. As if on cue, she bumps into something and her ankle gives out, sending her face first into the water. She stops herself with her hands and pushes her shoulders up, keeping the machine at a safe distance from the water.

“Lapis, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine.” She barks out, scowling at the throbbing pain in her foot. She struggles to regain her balance but manages to find her footing and holds onto the nearest wall. She turns her head, “Are you alright?”

Peridot shakes her head. “Adequate. Worry about yourself.”

“Watch your footing around here; it might be another pipe, or a stretcher.” Lapis takes tentative steps forward, making sure that there was nothing in front of her and kept going. _Fuck!_ _Found the stretcher;_ she hears behind her and grins. “Told you.” The corridor got significantly darker by the moment, the light source getting farther and farther away. Now she solely relied on Peridot’s eyes and her own sensitive eyesight. She feels Peridot shift behind her and the glow moves from left to right, somehow getting more intense. _Was she adjusting the brightness of her light?_ Lapis appreciated it, even if it was solely accidental, and continued walking a little more confidently.

“I can’t see anything at the end; we must be reaching a closed door.” She exclaims loudly, her voice being engulfed by the sound of water flowing from the pipes above and into the flooded floor. Her legs move slowly; her turnout trousers taking too much space and acting as some sort of brake. Lapis hears Ruby’s footsteps; much heavier but at the same time quicker, making much more sound as she moved across the water. Both her companions were significantly shorter than her, so they were having much more trouble getting around than she was.

“What’s with these damn doors?” Amethyst groans, rolling the sleeves of her jacket up. They were already soaked.

“What did the doors do to you?”

“They stole my dog. And kept me in here for over two centuries!”

“Cute. Try seven.”

“We get it, Lapis. You’re an edgy, overworked smith that is tired of being here.” She throws her head back in laughter. “Bet you’re eager to see what’s behind that door.”

“Not if it leads to Yellow’s sex dungeon.”

“Gross.”

“You know it’s possible!”

“Can we please just keep going?” Silence settles between them as they get closer and closer to the end of the corridor. As predicted, there’s another door, but the water level did not seem to lower, which meant that it’d be difficult to open it. She uses one hand to pat blindly at the door, looking for a window or a handle. She finds one just above the surface of the water, but no window to shatter. “Here, I’ll do it.” She moves back and allows Ruby to walk in front of her. She takes a hold of the door handle and pulls. “It’s jammed.”

“Can we break it open?”

“With all this water it’s going to be difficult.” Lapis’ vision is limited, but she can make out Amethyst and Ruby pulling the handle and managing to glide it just open enough for them to stick the crowbar in the breach. “I love this crowbar more than I love myself.”

“I’ll make sure you have a proper ceremony when we get out of here.” Lapis stands there as the other two put all of their weight against the crowbar and manage to push the door open. No water flows in and no water flows out, which meant the water level was the same in both rooms. Lapis sighs. She walks inside, moving out of the way before the door closes again, blocking all the light completely. The light coming from Peridot’s irises intensifies, making the reflective stripes from her companions’ jackets light up. She’s thankful that Peridot is the one wearing her jacket because this room is much warmer than the one they left moments ago. The water was hot, and so was the floor. “Any clue as to why the temperature is so high here?” She doesn’t turn her head this time, fully aware that the droid was listening.

“We’re right on top of the furnaces. The steam they let out travels through the ventilation system into this corridor. Due to its misuse the air conditioning was disabled and the steam isn’t being cycled.” She informs nonchalantly, completely unfazed by the heat for obvious reasons. Lapis on the other hand was beginning to feel the humidity of the water and the steam get to her head. She felt dizzy and her muscles were growing sore. Still she kept going, careful with how close machine was getting to the water. Hopefully, even if she fell, the machine ran on steam and it would not electrocute her.

“How are you guys hanging on?”

“I am this close to stripping out of this gear.”

“You’ll need it later, so I suggest that you hang on to it for now.”

“It’s easy for you to say, you donated your jacket like a Good Samaritan.” She ignores Amethyst’s comment and rearranges her grip on Peridot’s thighs. _Should’ve brought my gloves._ It’s a silly thought of course; she had no way of knowing she’d be escaping the day she decided to satiate her curiosity. This was another reason why she wasn’t wearing boots. That too would’ve made walking through water a little easier. “Don’t these things have glow sticks included in case of emergency?” The shorter worker digs around her turnout jacket, opening every pocket and patting around the outside, “A-ha!” she pulls out a short tube of plastic from one of the inner pockets and snaps it. Amethyst thoroughly shakes the tube until the fluorescent glow begins to light up the corridor.  Soon enough, Ruby follows the same example and snaps hers as well, adding her own glow to the mix. The once-dim corridor became a grim shade of green that made shadows appear more prominent, but at least it was bright enough to see the doors to the sides.

“This should be the last aisle before the disposal.” Peridot only speaks loud enough for Lapis to hear. This one nods and speeds up her pace, looking back only momentarily to make sure the other two were following close behind. Sweat begins to trail down Lapis’ neck; the water was slowly reaching her waist and she was struggling with keeping the machine away from the water. Amethyst seemed to be having the same problem, choosing to hold the fluorescent tube with her teeth and holding her bag as far away from the water as possible.

“This is it.” Peridot announces when they reach the end of the hallway. She can only make out a narrow opening in the wall covered by what looked like a vent. She attempts to pull the cover but it doesn’t budge. Instead, she pulls it up like a roller door, the panels pushing into each other to reveal a small opening, just big enough to fit a person at a time. “It’s quite the drop, but there’s a ladder on the other side.” Lapis moves to the side and allows Ruby to examine the aperture. She pokes her head inside and drops her glow stick.

She counts five seconds before she hears the echoing crash at the bottom.

“Seems safe.”

“It’s the quickest way down.” Ruby nods and reaches behind Lapis, pulling the glow stick from the turnout jacket covering Peridot. She snaps it and shakes it before digging her teeth into it and climbing over the garbage chute. Ruby digs her nails into the metal and sticks her legs out, hanging over the seemingly bottomless pit. She breathes in. In a flash she turns her body around and holds onto the ladder below the opening. The metal squeaks when her palms slip with the water, but she manages to keep her hold.

“I hate everything.” Lapis leans over the chute and looks down, catching a mess of curls and wide eyes. She exhales. “Well, it seems stable.”

“Maybe Lapis should’ve gone down first; she’s the one with the extra weight.” Amethyst muses behind her, looking over at the machine resting against her shoulder blades. She can feel Peridot shifting uncomfortably. She frowns. _Can she even feel any discomfort other than pain?_ Lapis shakes her head and moves towards the chute.

“Ruby is the only one strong enough to catch Peridot if she were to fall.”

She hears Ruby from the other side of the breach, “I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing, Lapis.” She can almost hear the other girl rolling her eyes and smiles. “Hurry up, my hands are slipping.” Amethyst tightens her bag around her shoulder while Lapis ponders. She grabs Peridot’s thighs and turns her around to rest against her front. The other is taken aback, but not uncomfortable.

“Amethyst, I need you to tie the sleeves of my jacket around my neck.”

“You want me to do what now?”

“It’ll keep her from falling, since she doesn’t have anything to hold me with.” Amethyst nods and moves behind Lapis, reaching for the sleeves of the fire jacket and tying them as she was told. When she’s done Lapis slowly lets go of the machine, making sure she was still tightly pressed against her chest. Apparently whatever was left of Peridot’s legs was strong enough to hold onto her waist, because she was able to move her arms freely without the risk of dropping the droid. Lapis looks down and finds green lenses looking back at her expectantly “Are you ready?” She nods. That’s all Lapis needs to climb into the chute and drop to the ladder below, hoping that her wet fingers didn’t lose their grip.

* * *

 It takes ten minutes for Lapis’ fingers to give out.

“Shit!” She reaches for the ladder but it’s too far away. Her breath hitches and she can feel her heart jumping out of her throat when suddenly she’s suspended in midair, feet still firmly against the ladder’s rung. She doesn’t have time to brace for impact.

When she opens her eyes she sees those same thin fingers gripping at the steps in front of her; the ones that were holding onto her wrist when she was at the lab. Something doesn’t seem right, however. When she looks down she finds Peridot still facing her, arms nowhere near the ladder.

“How are you doing that?!” Peridot seems startled, but calmly explains.

“Magnets.” She rips her gaze away from Peridot’s and stares at the fingers in awe. They were completely detached of any extremity, but for some reason they kept them in place.

“You always had them?!” Then it clicks. _So that’s why she didn’t fall off my back!_ The droid resting against her could still hold onto things without actual arms. And Lapis was okay with this. She almost laughs at the absurdity of it all.

“Are you guys okay up there?” Ruby stops momentarily, seeing that the two on top of her had stopped moving.

“Yeah, move it or I’ll fall on you!” Amethyst seemed at the moment, less concerned.

“We’re fine! You can keep going!” When Ruby resumes her climbing, Lapis becomes more lenient with hers; doing so more quickly now that she knew that falling wasn’t that much of a threat. It takes another ten minutes to finally reach the floor of the pit that was now lit up with the glow stick Ruby had dropped earlier. Lapis steps on the last rung; it’s dented from Ruby’s tight hold so she almost slips. Once safely on the ground—circumstance that was rather repetitive today—she drops her gaze to make sure the machine was okay. Mostly out of convenience and not an emotional bond.

“Are you alright?”

“You seem to question my well-being a lot for a person that is only using me.”

“Force of habit.”

“Naturally.”

She gives her a defiant glare, while Lapis only stares in astonishment. _Was that an attitude? From a machine?_ It was the second time she had noticed that glint in the robot’s eyes. It was definitely human, or at least appeared that way.

“Are you guys done flirting? We’re almost out of this hell hole.”

“We weren’t flirting!”

“I am not familiar with that function.” She almost calls bullshit on that, but doesn’t, the excitement of being so close to freedom drenching every other thought going through her head. Her hands itched, but she also knew it was probably way too good to be true. If Peridot was right, then their exit was just beyond that rusty old door. _Another door_. Lapis heaves a tired sigh that almost turns into a moan.

“Why does this place have so many fucking doors?!” Amethyst’s rage roars up and down the abyss, and it is engulfed by Lapis’ and Ruby’s laughter. It was the first time in a while she had laughed that much, and it was the day they were very likely to lose their lives. She didn’t care. She was willing to spend her last hours going against the system she had grown to despise. Nonetheless there was a growing doubt eating away at her consciousness. It was small, but persistent, and she had felt it the moment Amethyst had freed her from her cell. It only intensified when they began running away from the guards. This place that she was oh so familiar with had grown so foreign. Her senses were up, and she knew that she couldn’t trust anything that came her way, even if that something was the weight she was carrying in her arms. There was something about Peridot that only fed that flourishing fear. The fact that there were so many things she was yet to know about her. Things she would never bother to unfold, because she knew the moment they stepped outside the factory she would have to swallow every feeling of pity she felt towards the machine and erase it from existence. She was the only being aware of their escape, and even if she did help them, she would not take any chances. She felt Amethyst untie the sleeves from her neck and help her place the droid back on her back. She took a deep breath.

It was only a matter of time before the alarms went off, and then everything would be chaos. Guards all over would be quick to examine every corner of this bloody structure and once they realized what was missing then even the most moronic smith would be up their asses in hopes of getting some sort of reward. She also knew that it was daylight. She could see the rays sliding from underneath the metal door. This was really the exit. She’d have to run. To run like absolute hell if she wanted to survive and not be dragged back only to be disposed of no more than a day later. She knew her fate, and she knew that whatever awaited her beyond that door was a hundred times better than what the facility had to offer. Even if that was the possibility of dying from malnutrition or dehydration. She held onto Peridot’s legs a little more loosely this time. There was no need to overexert her hands if the droid in question could always grab on.

That made her freeze.

Was she really coming back?

Would she risk her life again to try and save those that couldn’t save themselves?

Her mind screamed _no_ almost immediately. But a face she was familiar with came within her field of view. Sadie didn’t deserve this. Lars was an ass, but he probably didn’t deserve that either. Uncertainty clawed at her skin and suddenly she wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Well? Are we set to go?” She was sure that Ruby was willing to come back for Sapphire, and she could bet that Amethyst was already formulating a way of coming back for Pearl, even if the doctor was probably the last person she’d rescue from this place. There was nothing waiting for her in here, so why _was it so hard to decide?_ There was one last person that she’d risk her life for but she wasn’t even sure if he was still _alive_. Though she had discovered many things today, things she would’ve never thought of. That gave her hope. Maybe he was still somewhere in the facility. She just had to look for him. She had a reason to come back now. There was nothing stopping her from escaping knowing that she could always come back stronger.

“Let’s get out of here.” She stands firm, head held high and proud.

Ruby reaches beneath the roller door and pulls it up. Sunlight creeps slowly into the abyss.

* * *

 She doesn’t notice the silhouettes waiting on the other side of the door.

“Well, it was about time you came out.”


	5. The Sweet Smell of Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler alert; It smells like dirt and burned flesh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's been a while. I apologize. I won't bother you with excuses. School started and (ironically) I work best under pressure. So I will have more organized (and frequent) updates. If you're still sticking around, thank you. Really.

Their situation would’ve been humorous if it wasn’t for the fact they were most likely about to die. Sunlight blinded Lapis, but she could clearly make out three people standing directly in front of the roller door; one tall, thin, and standing in between two larger silhouettes.

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me.” Ruby whispered under her breath, fingers tightening into fists. Now, it wasn’t that Lapis wasn’t afraid. She was. Absolutely terrified, but she was also tired. She was tired of this entire game of cat and mouse. She was tired and wanted out, and that is why she didn’t hesitate to let go of Peridot’s thighs and dig her fist into the officer’s face. Lapis’ knuckles crack against bone—or is it the nose that’s cracking? Either way, blood pours and it smears on her fingers. She cleans it with her pants.

“Fuck _yes!”_ Amethyst followed suit, head-butting one of the guards. The officer’s squeaky voice rang through Lapis’ head as she muttered obscenities and held her now broken nose with her hands.

“Yellow will hear about this!” She threatened, pulling some sort of communicator out of her pocket with one hand, as the other held onto the bloody mess.

“Oh no, you’re not!” Ruby had none of it, swiftly kicking the device out of the officer’s hand. Lapis’ eyes flash dangerously for a second as she sends another punch at the thin official. A sun’s flare illuminated her face; _of course_ it was another of those annoying pearls. _Most likely Yellow’s._ Unlike the Doctor, everyone in Yellow’s crew was insufferable. Her fist meets a Quartz’ chest instead. She quickly jumps back, holding firmly onto the droid. Amethyst takes her place and teams up with Ruby to trap the guard into a messy—and admittedly hilariously-looking—clothesline.

The three of them manage to herd the wardens inside the disposal chute just far enough for Lapis and Amethyst to make a run for it. Ruby leaps and holds onto the rolling door, successfully bringing it down and locking the guards and the supervisor inside. The door slams against the concrete ground and Lapis can almost hear the sound of her metaphorical chains breaking. Okay, probably not, but she was happy nonetheless.

“I can’t believe we just did that.”

“Neither can I.” The rush keeps Lapis’ thoughts racing. She just beat up Yellow’s highest official and locked her in a garbage chute, escaped the building, and stole a valuable piece of machinery only to plan to destroy it shortly after they escaped. Lapis Lazuli was fucking _hardcore._ She mentally congratulated herself and her partners before rolling her shoulders and running. The fighting had taken a toll on her muscles. She hadn’t tried to pull something like that off in a _long_ time. A couple hundred years, maybe? She knew she couldn’t take down a Quartz soldier by herself anymore. At one point she might’ve, but not anymore. With Ruby and Amethyst by her side, however…

Lapis shook her head. She didn’t know where she was going, but her heart was racing and the exhilarating taste of fresh air served as a stimulant. A drug. She held onto Peridot tightly before she stopped dead in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?” She looks up. An observation tower overlooked the facility in the distance. Its cracked walls told one story after another; a story long forgotten, but that the surrounding ziggurats could not help but remind those that remained prisoners of the past. Unfortunately, it remained active and surely they had been notified of their absence.

“We can’t go through there without being seen.”

“Oh, so _now_ you care about being seen? You broke YP’s nose a _minute ago!”_ Lapis looked around; the perimeter was blocked by walls with barbwire, and the only checkpoint was being highly monitored. She knew that if she approached the checkpoint they’d be apprehended immediately, and all their efforts would be lost. If they were lucky they’d be killed on the spot. Well, if _she_ was lucky. She doubted her companions longed the same fate she did.

“That watch tower is only being controlled by a single soldier. The rest of the appliances are programmed to follow an automated protocol.” Lapis had nearly forgotten the presence on her back. She turned her head to find Peridot’s analytical gaze fixed on the tower in front of them. “All you have to do is distract the guard while I disable the security system.”

“You can do that?”

“I think so.”

“How reassuring.”

Peridot rolls her eyes. “Do you have another idea?”  

“Lapis, let’s just trust the droid.” Amethyst said, slightly annoyed. “‘Sides, if it doesn’t work, it’s three versus one, we’ll be fine.” Lapis regards her with a skeptical look, but nods nonetheless.

* * *

“You never mentioned the guard was a _Bismuth!”_

 “Didn’t think it was relevant.”

Lapis considers—if only briefly—manually removing Peridot’s speech modem.

“Alright. Ruby, check the perimeter. Amethyst, watch _her._ I’ll take Peridot to the control room.” Lapis said, taking charge and hoping that the dormant rebel resting at the core of her friends didn’t stir.

“Who died and made _you_ diamond?”

So much for _that_.

“Do _you_ want to carry the droid?” Amethyst stares at her for a moment before shaking her head. “That’s what I thought.” She sneers, shifting her hold on Peridot.

The two took separate directions after finding that the door to the watch tower was left uncharacteristically open—fact that was strange enough to question, but Lapis paid it no mind. She pushed the metal door slowly and inhaled sharply. Rust, dirt—she holds her breath to stop herself from coughing. For a tower that was supposedly _still operating_ it sure seemed like a dump. The door made no sound that could’ve announced their presence, and for that she was grateful—She was sick of the fact _every_ _fucking door_ in the factory was designed by the same horror movie enthusiast. She noted there was no watchman at the foyer of the tower either; the front desk was empty, and it appeared to have been for quite some time now, with only a few papers scattered around and dust pilling over the woodwork.

Lapis made a mental note of the date displayed on a digital calendar next to the black monitor. She numbers were meaningless to her. After way too much time in the shadows the days were just combinations of letters with no concept of time-lapse or continuance. There was no way for her to know if the date was fresh or if it was the last date it displayed before it stopped functioning. Though the symbols still seemed familiar, they meant nothing to her anymore. She could always ask Peridot.

“God, this equipment is _ancient!_ ” Lapis threw a glance at the machine on her back; Peridot was eyeing the desk skeptically, mouth turned into a snarl. It was a strange demonstration of emotion Lapis had never seen on a machine before. It was almost comical. She wondered just how many gears and parts had to work inside this little droid to make her seem so angry.

“Sorry to break it to you, but you’re not exactly ‘up-to-date’ either.” She felt the droid shift behind her, letting out a soft flare of steam in the process; what she assumed to be a huff. Lapis made a mental note to ask her if she had reconstructed herself to be able to do that or if it was implemented in her system.

“I know _that!_ But I can assure you it’s only the exterior. My core has the most advanced programming this facility has ever seen!” The longer Lapis listened to Peridot, the more her ‘personality’ seemed to take shape. That is, if it was a personality at all and not some rogue AI that was having way too much fun with its own progression. She seemed almost— _proud_ of herself. Pride was something machines seldom showed, unless that was their purpose. Regardless of whether she believed Peridot’s development to be true or not, she didn’t grace her with a response. She offhandedly agreed with her, waving the comment with indifference.

“Right. Anyways, I suppose you have some sort of map of this tower. Any idea where the control panel might be?” Peridot seemed taken aback by the sudden question, but quickly recovered, scanning the lobby silently.

Lapis walked up to the reception desk and placed Peridot on top of it, rolling her shoulders and cracking a couple joints. Looking back she found the droid staring at her with an odd look on her face. She identified it as guilt, but quickly brushed it off as her own tiredness getting to her. A second glance showed that Peridot had moved on and was now looking around the room with her eyes illuminating the visor with geometric designs. She kept it up for a few moments before locking into a certain vent and closing her eyes.

“That vent leads straight up to the control panel, but it’s only big enough for one of us. And clearly I am in no way fit to crawl on my own.” She stopped for a moment, perhaps considering her options, before quickly turning her head. “Wait! Didn’t your friend mention she had some spare enhancers?”

“Absolutely not. I don’t trust you running around near a security system with an entire database in your brain. How do I know you’re not still working for them?” Lapis crossed her arms, looking away from the droid. Her reasoning made sense in her eyes. There was really no way of knowing if Peridot was really going off her own accord, and even if she was, reassembling a machine right under the nose of a guard wasn’t the brightest idea.

 “You still need proof?! I just broke you out of captivity! If it wasn’t for me you’d still be walking aimlessly around that cheap excuse of a prison!”

Lapis tapped her foot, arms crossed in front of her chest. 

“And if it wasn’t for _me_ you’d still be in shreds sitting in that corner of the laboratory.” That seemed to shut her up effectively, but a silent agreement was reached. Peridot _had_ guided them out of the factory after all.

“Can you guide me through the steps if I go inside?”

“W-What?”

“I’m not going to repeat myself. Can you do it or not?” Peridot seemed to think it over before sighing in defeat. Well, ‘sighing’ became subjective. More like a _softer_ release of smoke from the tubes on her shoulders.

“I suppose we could disable it manually…,” Peridot turned her head to the side, “Yes, but it’s not going to be simple.” Lapis made her way to the vent behind the computer desk, pulling it out of its frame and placing it neatly against the wall. It seemed like vent-crawling was a common occurrence now. “On the other side of this wall you’re going to see some screens. The easiest way to go around it is to unplug the servers—“

“Break it down, cogwheel.”

“Just—just get in there and tell me what you see.” Lapis nodded her head and crawled into the cramped space. The further she crawled the farther the light from the entrance got, and it got significantly more difficult to navigate the stretch in the darkness. Eventually her fingertips made contact with a solid metal box lit up only by a couple of red lights. She couldn’t make out any details on the box, other than rapidly changing numbers and symbols on a tiny screen. “What do you see?”

“I’ll get back to ya when I figure it out.”

“Be serious! We don’t have much time. Is it a box with red lights and numbers?”

“Yes.” Lapis traced her fingers over the box, trying to make out any buttons or even switches, but eventually gave up after finding none. “There’s nothing I can control from the outside. I think something is meant to be connected.”

“Really. Go figure.” She could clearly hear the sarcasm on Peridot’s voice. That stopped her for a moment. Was Peridot’s voice always this sporadic? Weren’t most drones supposed to have monotone vocalizations? Lapis shook her head.

“Are you done with being a pain in the ass or do you need more time?”

“Unplug the second plug in the back of the box and plug it into the seventh slot—”

She had no time for this. Lapis’ hand fisted around the number of cables firmly plugged into the black box and pulled hard enough to shake it. Soon enough, she could hear everything powering down, and the light coming from the vent was shut off.

“What did you do?! Ugh, forget it! Just get out here!” She heard Peridot whisper from the other side of the vent. She was clearly distressed, so Lapis held her tongue, stopping another snarky comment. Lapis crawled backwards and placed the vent back in its place. Peridot’s eyes did that thing again, where they glowed like flashlights. It was slightly unnerving. She wondered if they looked the same without the visor, or if she could even remove it. Perhaps she’d keep the machine around? for a little longer before getting rid of it.

There was something Lapis hated about military facilities—or pseudo-military facilities, and that was the lack of windows. The outside could be clear as day but the inside was a wolf’s mouth. She turned to the staircase.

_“Psst, Amethyst?”_

There was no response.

“You’ve got to be fucking,” She took a deep breath, and then heaved a long sigh, “Whatever. It’s fine. Is the security system disabled _now?”_

Peridot rolled her eyes. “Yes. _Everything_ is disabled now, as a matter of fact.” The machine glared, a cloud of fresh steam rolling out. “ _Including_ the door behind that checkpoint.”

Ah.

So maybe she _should_ _have_ listened to instructions.

“Well, can’t do anything about that now, right? We’ll just have to break it open.”

She doesn’t miss Peridot’s expression when she says it. Lapis smiles innocently. “… _what?”_

* * *

They wait outside of the tower patiently. Lapis and Peridot had regrouped with Ruby, but there was no sign of Amethyst. The girl was gone up that set of stairs and hadn’t come down since. Lapis knew there was no reason to worry. Amethyst could take care of herself. She was only worried about the kind of mayhem that would come down chasing after her in case she was to rush out.

“So…how do you do _that_?” Ruby wiggled her fingers with a confused look on her face.

Lapis would’ve run a hand over her face if it wasn’t for the fact they were occupied carrying Peridot.

“What, _this?”_ Peridot’s…fingers detached from her sides, floating in the air in front of her. She rotated them freely, and created a series of geometric shapes. “They’re emergency appendages. For when I lose my limb enhancers.”

“What’s their range?” Ruby asked, curiosity glowing in her amber eyes.

“No more than a couple of meters. They offer the bare essentials; holding things, sending signals, electrocuting…”

Ruby paled. “W-What?!”

Peridot shrugged. “Well, I don’t exactly have any other method of defending myself without my enhancers.” She stated matter-of-factly, making her the small cylinders fly back into their holes on her sides. If Lapis wasn’t so used to it at this point she’d find it gross.

“Wait,” Lapis turned to face Peridot—albeit with some difficulty due to the other’s position. “You said you used your enhancers as defense mechanisms. What do they do?”

“Oh! They have quite the number of functions! I true work of expertise, if I do say so myself!” Peridot gleamed, the gears and wheels around her being turning just a smidge faster. Almost giddy. “All the way from propellers, holographic technology, adhesion and even blasters!”

“Did you say blasters?”

With that, the metal door of the tower collapsed in a cloud of smoke and debris. The sound made Lapis’ ears ring, and she instinctively turned Peridot from the positon on her back to her front, hugging her protectively against her chest. Ruby also took cover, jumping to the side and covering her head with her arms.

“Everyone _RUN_!” From the smoke wall came Amethyst holding onto a strange metal cone and running hastily from the—well, hole—in the wall. Time seemed stopped for only a few seconds, but there were a number of things Lapis was able to regard from her current situation.

One; Amethyst looked like she had discovered one  function of Peridot’s _blasters._ That much made sense.

Two; She was running. Really fast. And telling everyone to do so as well.

Three; A mess of colorful dreads and muscle was beginning to break through the smoke wall as well.

She now understood why Amethyst was running to begin with.

Now that she was as caught up to the plot as the reader, time regained its pace; sending pieces of concrete flying in every direction and shoving dust and destruction down Lapis’ throat.

” _I’M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART!”_ It was a Bismuth indeed. And she was angry, and apparently, also wounded. The guard held her eye with a huge grey hand, while the other tightened into a huge fist. Rage was a clear expression on her face and for a second Lapis could only see Jasper’s face. Ruby sprinted towards Lapis, brushing past her and heading to the metal gate behind the check point.

“What are you doing?! Run!” Peridot’s voice broke her out of her trance and her legs started to move. At first clumsily, but eventually she was running behind Ruby. She turned around to see Amethyst struggling to outrun the brute behind her.

“Amethyst! Aim that thing at the metal gate!” Lapis screamed from over her shoulder. She saw the other girl fiddling with the arm and pointing it in front of her. An energy sphere began to form from its barrel, growing in size and sending sparks of electricity everywhere. Eventually the sphere was released, swooshing ways past Lapis and crashing against the gates. The explosion rose sand, covering the check point entirely.

 

There was no time to check if the blast that destroyed the gate or not. Lapis kept running.

 

She broke into a sprint and entered the cloud of smoke, holding her breath and squinting. Her feet found uneven ground as she reached the check point. She took a shot in the dark and leap forward, turning on her back to protect the machine in her arms.

Close behind her was Ruby, who also leaped, but landed more gracefully than she did.

And lastly Amethyst who landed with a thud.

 

When the smoke and dust cleared, they were past the walls and barbwire, and into the soft sands of the desert beyond the horizon Lapis yearned to observe for nearly half a millennia. The sun shone brightly above her, and the overwhelming heat made her clothes stick to her skin with sweat. The sand stuck to her fingertips and hid beneath her fingernails. She took calming breaths and turned her gaze up.

 

The Bismuth laid unconscious a couple of feet away from the check point.

 

So maybe they _weren’t_ the only ones who couldn’t leave the facility.

 

“We did it.” Ruby rose to her feet, holding her bleeding arm. She had crashed against some barbwire when she leaped past the check point. Blood dripped down her shoulder to her elbow, but Ruby didn’t seem to care.

“ _Ugh”_ she turned to her left to see Amethyst struggling to push herself up. She raised her head and coughed up sand. “I fucking hate sand.”

“When was the last time you even _saw_ sand?”

“I don’t know. Four, maybe five hundred years? Still. This shit gets _everywhere._ ” A small giggle left Lapis’ lips.

 

She was free.

 

Lapis closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and relaxing for the first time in ages.

That was, until she felt something stir from under her arms. She looked down at the mess of spikes that decorated the droid’s head and found a pair of eyes looking up at her. Peridot’s chin was resting against her chest. Her gaze was curious, instead of the normal cocky sneer. It was silly of her to consider that sneer ‘normal’, considering she had only known Peridot for approximately two days. One and a half give or take a few hours. But it seemed natural on her face. Now she looked…pensive. Her eyes were full of wonder. She had never seen an expression like that on an android before.

Lapis raised an eyebrow and pushed Peridot away. She ignored Peridot’s protests as she landed onto the hot sand and closed her eyes again. The placed her arms over her eyes to cover herself from the scolding sun—and to hide any trace of color that could’ve risen to her cheeks.

“You barely made it.”

So much for a few seconds of silence to savor her freedom.

“What do you mean?” Amethyst had pulled herself up to a sitting position and Ruby had walked towards them. Peridot didn’t make an attempt to get up. If it was because of her lack of limbs or out of pure laziness Lapis didn’t know. Did machines even feel like being lazy?

“Well, if you all had leaped a second too late you would’ve ended up like the overcooked pebble over there.” Peridot pointed one of her fingers in the direction of the Bismuth. “The security systems have a twenty minute reboot time before they change to stored energy. When Lapis so gracefully _destroyed_ the main power source, the countdown began.”

“We could’ve died.”

“Please, the shock isn’t _that_ drastic. Your physical forms would simply lose consciousness for around forty-eight to seventy-two hours.” Peridot explained, rolling her eyes.

“More than enough time for the guards to find us and lock us up again.” Lapis said, finally sitting up.

It grew silent after that. None of them moved. They simply gazed upon what had turned into their prison cell for no one knows how long. Except for maybe Lapis. She was still the one with the longest time in the facility.

“So, now what?” Ruby broke the silence, fidgeting with the cut on her arm. Amethyst swatted her hand away.

“We part ways.” They all turned to Lapis. She spoke without hesitation. She was free now and there was no need for either of those two to follow her around anymore. They were free to do whatever they wanted to do. Though they had _chosen_ to follow her at first, it was only to escape. Now that they had done so, they could each going their separate directions.

“You’re kidding, right?” Lapis turned to Amethyst, who was looking at her with disbelief.

“What else is there? We all got what we wanted. There’s no need to stick together.” Lapis felt her throat clog up as she spoke. “You can go look for help and free Pearl and Sapphire. I’ll go off on my own.”

“Listen here, you edgy sack of crap,” Amethyst stood up and shoved her index finger into Lapis’ chest. “I’ve stuck by you since we became roommates so many years ago. We’re a team. If I followed you outside that forsaken facility I’ll follow you to hell and back, do you understand?”

“Yeah, don’t think you can get rid of us that easily. You know you have unfinished business here.” Ruby leaned against Amethyst, speaking in ragged breaths. Lapis’ resolve shattered beneath her friend’s gaze. She really couldn’t just leave everything behind, could she? No. That’d make her a coward.

Lapis could be many things, but a coward wasn’t one of them. Not anymore.

She sighed in defeat. “Fine. I guess you can tag along.” Lapis reluctantly stood up, brushing the sand off her clothes. “But if I hear even a single pun I’ll kicking both of your asses back into the factory, understood?”

* * *

They set camp near the check point, using the shadow casted by the watch tower as protection from the sun. Lapis knew that the first thing Yellow Diamond would do is send her hounds running outside the gates. They’d continue forth, completely ignoring the perimeters of the facility. That’s give them enough time to make a plan. The issue at the moment was; they still had Peridot in their possession, and Lapis found it harder and harder to let go by the second.

_Maybe she could really be useful for something._

_Or she could have some tracker device and get us killed._

_What if she has a GPS? She could guide us to safety._

_Or right into the lion’s den._

“Hey, are you okay?”

Speak of the Devil. _And he shall appear._

“I’m fine.” Lapis dismissed Peridot’s concern with a wave of her hand. She still couldn’t believe just how _well_ Peridot was taking the fact she was about to—well, _die._ “I just have a headache, that’s all.” Peridot’s gaze seemed to soften, if that was even possible, but she stayed silent.

_“Yes!”_ Lapis turned her head to find Amethyst digging haphazardly into her bag. She had pulled out every bit of Peridot’s missing limbs and a number of tools. When she pulled her head out of the bag she was holding the communicator she had taken from Pearl. She didn’t wait before turning it one and browsing through the channels.

“Pearl? Do you copy? I’m out!”

It took  a couple of minutes of messing with the device until eventually;

_“Amethyst?!”_ Pearl’s worried voice rung from the communicator. _“Where are you?!”_

“I’m outside! We made it!” Amethyst shook, the realization finally dawning onto her. Lapis could see tears beginning to form in the shorter girl’s eyes.

_“O-Oh my god, I’m so glad! Are you okay?”_

“We’re all fine; we couldn’t have made it without your little toy.” She failed to hide the smirk that formed in her lips as she spoke. Lapis’ eyes widened.

_“…What?! Amethyst what—”_ There was a sudden cut in communication, followed by some indecipherable noises and suddenly “ _AMETHYST!”_

“I hear you loud and clear, P!” Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose and Lapis rolled her eyes.

_“…How is it?”_

“ _She,_ Pearl. Peridot isn’t a _thing_.” Amethyst groaned, “—and she’s perfectly fine.” She side-glanced the machine and winked. Peridot struggled recognizing the gesture.

_“Has it—I mean, has she shown any symptoms of development? Any evolving traits?”_

“What are you talking about?” Something inside of Lapis’ clicked.

“Amethyst, let me talk to her.”

“What? Why?”

“Just give me that.” She ripped the device from the other’s hand and spoke into it. “Pearl?”

_“…Lazuli? Was this your idea? What were you thinking?!”_

“That doesn’t matter. What’s this about development?”

_“Right, 2FL – 5XG is a prototype AI that’s meant to learn. To evolve. Has it shown any of that?”_

“Uh, “ She looked back at Peridot—she was back into that stand-by mode. “Does sarcasm count?”

_“Y-Yes! What has she been doing? I need to see her progress!”_

“Well that’s gonna be a little difficult, Doc. There’s no way in hell I’m going back in there.”

_“…Of course. I cannot expect you to. Just, don’t get rid of her. Please.”_

Lapis considered it for a moment. The risks, the rewards. Everything. And the last thing she thought of was herself. Did she _really_ want to destroy the little robot? Yeah, she could be a pain in the ass but she _did_ help them get out of the factory. It was a simple decision, really.

“…I will. Goodbye Pearl.” And with that, she tossed the small gadget into Amethyst’ hand. “Well it’s your lucky day, ‘Dot.” She turned to the droid, kneeling in front of it. “I’ve decided you haven’t overstayed your usefulness _just yet.”_

“ _Oh goodie.”_

“Don’t make me change my mind, cogwheel.”

“…Thank you.” The machine whispered it so quickly Lapis almost didn’t catch it. She did, though, and she inexplicably felt good about keeping the little robot alive. She offered Peridot a small smile and shook her shoulder.

“Come on, Amethyst, let’s get to work. I’m done carrying this bag of nails on my back.”

“I thought you’d never fucking ask!”

 

With that, both smiths got to work. Ruby sat against the wall—the wound didn’t allow her to help with assembling Peridot, but she could at least help restraining the droid’s trashing circuits. Her mind was somewhere else, back inside the facility, behind multiple walls. She was coming back. There was no doubt about that. She refused to let Sapphire down. Ruby bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. It had been so long since the two of them had been apart.

_“You can do this, Ruby. Everything’s going to be alright.”_

How she wished she could hear her say those words again, as she gazed upon the endless dunes of sand in the horizon. She wasn’t sure how long she would last out there without finding some actual shelter. She was thankful her body didn’t need sustenance. Her gaze locked onto the two smiths working on the robot. They smiled and playfully smacked each other. They were happy. For the first time in a long time her friends were genuinely happy. And she was happy for them. _More or less._

“So, Peridot.” The machine hummed in response. “Do you have some sort of map that’ll help us across the desert?” Peridot nodded. “Good.” Lapis smiled a little too widely. Peridot wasn’t sure if she could shiver but she had definitely felt _something_ going down her back.

It didn’t take long until Peridot was fully assembled and trying out her limbs. The enhancers were only prototype versions, so they still lacked certain functions. Peridot quickly took notice of that. No flying and no electrocuting—Ruby was thankful for that. _At least the blaster is fully functional_ , she thought, as she looked inside the barrel and along the sides of the cylinder. Her fingers moved from their position on her sides into the enhancers, coming out from the other end. Now it actually looked like a hand. Sort of. A rather _interesting_ hand.

“How’s it feel?”

“Good. I don’t feel as helpless anymore.”

“It’s a shame. Guess you can’t ride on my back anymore.” She was teasing, Peridot knew that, but it was still insufferable. “Good for my muscles, though,” she stretched her back for emphasis. “You sure are heavy for your size.”

“Need me to carry you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Just an offer. I can carry around four times my weight with _these.”_ Peridot extended her arms, fingers floating around. Lapis was still not used to that.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

This was going to be a long trip.


	6. Kink-shaming a Diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After three days of walking, Lapis begins to question whether bringing her jacket to a walk in the desert was a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pulling a Harper Lee: The action of writing a sequel or continuation of a book 50 years later and then dying.

Three days into their escape, the hounds returned to the facility, and Lapis could finally breathe without restrain. ‘Hound’ was a loose term used for the hunter-like machines constructed to scour the area. They looked less like dogs and more like awkward spheres with retractable talons. Much like actual hounds, their strength was in numbers more so than destructive ability. Either way, Lapis wasn’t keen on getting caught by one of them and then subsequently being dragged back like a pathetic tool.

The gems hadn’t travelled too far from the parameters; just far enough to keep the intimidating structure in the horizon, and enough to be out of their visual range.  Nevertheless, the fear was imminent; looming over their shoulders like the very gaze of a diamond.

But at least Peridot’s ceaseless chatter seemed to keep it at bay.

“—and then I called her a _clod_ to her face, can you believe that?”

Every passing moment reminded Lapis of a time where silence was the norm.

“There’s no way you called Yellow a clod.” Amethyst said, unconvinced and with a grin playing in her lips.

Peridot stretched her limbs and stuck out her tongue, which was more of a bundle of admittedly gross-looking cables than anything resembling one.

“Fine. Don’t believe me. Wait until we’re far enough for us to leave the facility’s Wi-Fi signal and I’ll show you the video.”

 

They were finally approaching the end of the desert that extended beyond the facility, and Peridot and Ruby seemed to be the only two who weren’t affected by the scorching heat. Peridot seemed to have gotten used to her limbs; her stroll wasn’t awkward, and she could reach for objects without over measuring the distance. If it was up to Lapis, it was a significant improvement from carrying the robot’s weight on her back.

“So, Lapis.”

Lapis turns to find Peridot looking at her expectedly. “What?”

“What’re you going to do once we get there?”

“Get there?”

“To whatever place we’re going. You _do_ have a place in mind, right?” Peridot doesn’t look at her as she speaks. She kicks the sand with her curved feet and watches as it is taken away by the wind.

Lapis thinks; something she hadn’t been doing for the past couple of days. Her brain appeared to be on autopilot. _Get away get away get away_ without any sense of _where_ to go. But now that they were arguably safe, she needed to think of what do to next.

She tries to remember all the different plans she had made when she was first incarcerated, but draws a blank. She had always planned how to get out, but never what to do afterwards. She had been away for way too long. The world wasn’t the same anymore.

Where would she go?

“I don’t know where we’re going.” She said, looking down at her feet. Always barefoot.

“What do you mean you don’t know where we’re going?”

“I meant what I said.” Lapis says firmly, looking straight at Peridot. Peridot held her gaze, a bit restless. “I had no place in mind when I left my cell, or when I found you.”

“Fun.” Amethyst didn’t seem at all bothered by this. Peridot remained silent. “Guess we’ll just have to figure it out as we go.”

“Easy for you to say, you haven’t planned a day in your life.” Lapis tries to ignore the uneasiness of Ruby’s voice. She fails. “We’re still coming back, right?”

The three stay silent for a while. Ruby tries again, “Lapis?”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Lapis swallows something thick and weighs her words carefully. “That’s why I suggested splitting up.”

Ruby’s face drops to something dark and Lapis feels her stomach lurch itself to the ninth ring of hell. “You’re a cunt, you know that?”

“It’s called survival.”

“It’s called being a fucking bastard.”

“Oh, grow up,” Lapis’ head snaps up and she meets Ruby’s gaze. She tries to match the other’s intensity but she can feel her own fear building up behind her pupils.

“I’ve been in that shithole for far longer than you two. Did you really expect me to come back? I saw the opportunity to escape and I took it. _You_ are the one who saw this as an attempt to play hero.”

“Well excuse me for assuming you had some trace of compassion left.” Lapis almost laughs.

“That’s cute. It was every gem for itself the moment we were taken and you know that.” Lapis feels Peridot’s nervous gaze on her, but continues. “I wasn’t the one who went out of her way getting involved with another captive—”

_“You fucking hypocrite—”_

“—so, don’t come to me all _high-and-mighty_ when we all know you would’ve been the first to promptly fuck off with your girlfriend if the opportunity presented itself.”

“Alright, can you both shut up already? Peridactyl here and I are sick of the sad life contest.”

“Peri _what—?”_

If it wasn’t for Amethyst’s gentle shove to her chest, Lapis would be sporting third degree burns in every exposed inch of skin.

 “We _will_ come back, whether Pissy McLappy wants it or not. Are we clear?”

“ _Amethyst—”_

“Pearl would kill me if I didn’t.” There’s something soft and pure in Amethyst’s eyes. Something Lapis was sure didn’t exist anymore. “’sides, we gotta get the Ste-man outta there, don’t we?”

Lapis blinks. “You didn’t forget, did you?”

As a matter of fact, she had.

“Unbelievable. Well, there we go. We each got a reason to return now. Now stop arguing before I fill your mouths with sand.”

* * *

 

The rest of the walk was rather silent. Lapis could tell Peridot was uncomfortable. She didn’t blame her. The droid had gone from getting limited humanoid interaction to blown-out argument in a matter of days. She was probably still adjusting to the changes in tone and hostile facial expressions. Lapis looked to the side and found her looking down at her feet. The ridges along her face made the closest thing to a worried expression Peridot could make. Ruby had fallen behind while talking to Amethyst, so Lapis closed the gap to almost brush shoulders with Peridot.

“Sorry about that.” Was the first thing she said, but it seemed to be enough to break Peridot out of her quiet trance.

“Are all of you like this? Humans and gems alike?” Curiosity spilled every so often from Peridot and it took a different shape every time. Sometimes it was fearful, and others as if everything she took in was charming. Strangely enough, this was one of those times.

“Like what?”

“So unapologetic about hurting one another.” Lapis’ smile dropped and for a brief moment she felt the guilt of her entire race resting upon her shoulders. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“It isn’t always like this.” Lapis looked around. “We feel very… _strongly_ about many things. Sometimes those feelings are undesirable.”

She felt as if she was dancing around her words, trying to justify something she couldn’t. Being _human_ was the correct term but it felt wrong on her tongue. If being human was something _gems_ could do, was _being human_ not an exclusive term anymore?

“It’s fascinating to witness, actually.” Lapis’ identity crisis ends abruptly and confusion settles in. “I can see why such ludicrous conflicts start wars, I just can’t understand it.” Lapis could practically see the wheels turning inside the droid’s head—which, to be completely honest, was beginning to feel like a rude assumption. Would it be considered a stereotype?

“How does it work?”

“What?”

“Feeling. How does it work?”

“Err, well…” The last thing Lapis needed was an existential dilemma.

“Sorry to interrupt, but you guys really need to check this out.” At some point during the conversation, Ruby and Amethyst had not only caught up with them, but also explored more than the two.

How Lapis had managed to miss this was beyond her.

Despite the thought that the desert continued in every direction, the group had come upon a cliff’s end. Lapis took a few steps closer to find that they were indeed suspended on a completely different plane. Almost as if the ground had been raised by some supernatural force. She took one more step before something grabbed her wrist.

“Careful.” She turned around and found that Ruby was the one holding her. The air was different between them, a heavy apology hanging in the air like a desperate prayer.  Lapis nodded and stepped away from the edge.

“What could’ve done this?” She asked, failing to see Peridot getting closer to the edge. “H-Hey, what’re you doing?! Get back here!”

After leaning down into the abyss, Peridot sat down, dangling her legs over the edge. Lapis didn’t follow her, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to or not. She itched to take a step forward, to latch onto Peridot and pull her back, to make sure she was safe. The logical part of her head asked her _why?_ Wasn’t she practically eager to destroy her less than a week ago? What had changed?

Peridot didn’t seem scared. She quietly swung her legs back and forth and watched the vast desert that extended in front of her.

Hesitation loomed above Lapis’ head. It reminded her of a time when she thought things twice; a time when she was scared of consequences; scared of being _shattered_. Had she really lost all will to live?

It sounded so melodramatic.

Then again, Lapis herself was a melodramatic gem.

She let go of the sudden fear and took a step forward. She walked up to the droid and sat down, crossing her legs beneath her instead of dangling them. She was still moderately sane enough not to take her chances. The view was undeniably awe-inspiring, despite the plainness of the ever-expanding sand dunes. Soon enough, the other two followed. Ruby sat down next to Lapis, dangling only one leg, and resting her arm on her bent knee, while Amethyst sat next to Peridot and leaned back onto her hands staring calmly at the sky.

There was no use in arguing among themselves. After all, they only had each other.

* * *

 

Night fell quickly after that, and it made navigating across the sand harder. On the bright side, Lapis didn’t have to deal with the heat, and was perfectly fine with using the moonlight to find the way.

Ruby, on the other hand, was getting rather impatient by the passage of time.

“This is pointless. We don’t know where we are, we don’t know where we’re going, and sooner or later the hounds will round us up and drag us back to be shattered by the diamonds.”

Lapis rolled her eyes and snorted at Amethyst humming _Miss Sunshine_ behind them. “Might as well tell us of the bad we’re dying of.”

“I just did! Pissed off diamond who gets off on shattering gems.”

“You’d know.”

“Why do we always end up kink shaming Yellow Diamond?”

It was ridiculous, casually talking like this when getting caught meant possibly being shattered in every possible way. It was silly and lighthearted and honestly Lapis was all for it. She was high on the freedom she was experiencing and she wasn’t about to ruin that by dwelling on the harsher reality of life. Lapis wondered what it would’ve been like to escape earlier; would the surroundings be any different? Was this desert always here? Why was this particular piece of desert isolated from the rest? It was all harmless wondering, and hopefully she wouldn’t have to know the answer to any of those questions. That’d mean mingling in matters of the facility one way or another, and she’d had enough of that.

They decided to follow the cliff in hopes of finding a way down, or something that would let them know if there was a way to leave the factory’s parameters. Peridot’s map wasn’t updated to include the massive cliff, so there was no way of knowing which way to go.

“That wasn’t on the map.”

Lapis is thrown off from her inner dialogue by Peridot stopping abruptly in front of her, making her crash onto her back. They share a look before Peridot directs her gaze to the front.

“What the hell is that?”

Laying before them was a massive structure half buried into the sand. It was so dark that it practically blended into the night. Lapis traced it with her gaze, constructing a vague rectangle coming out of the ground—or perhaps embedded into it? No one moved to inspect it, mostly shocked by their ability to overlook something the size of a ship.

“So, is anyone going to point it out or…?”

“…I’m going in.”

“Amethyst, no—”

“And she’s gone.”

Lapis heaved a sigh and shook her head. Ruby appeared to be wrestling with the need to stay together and the need to go after Amethyst. Eventually, her revolve cracked and she ran towards the unidentified superstructure.

“Are they always like this?” She walked up to stand next to Peridot, whose eyes softly illuminated the dark corridor Amethyst had run into.

“Unfortunately. It’s getting cold anyways, let’s go.”

Lapis calmly wandered into the corridor, all sense of alarm being overruled by exhaustion. The place was by no means safe, but she wasn’t about to overpass an opportunity to rest for the sake of safety. That’d make much more sense in an alternate reality where Lapis gave a damn. Peridot hesitated, but started after her. She quickly caught up to Lapis and adjusted the brightness of her irises in order to navigate through the dark.

How Amethyst and Ruby had gotten through in complete darkness was beyond both of them.

Undoubtedly, the building has more advanced than the facility was. Despite the obvious technological wonders the factory displayed, Lapis could tell there was a reason most areas within the building remained stagnant. The facility wasn’t getting any funding for repairs or equipment maintenance. This structure, on the other hand, exhibited relatively modern features incomparable to that of the shithole they had escaped from. Lapis recognized the material and the shape from the times she’d sneak out of her cell and stare out the window to see ships just like this one landing on the clear of the facility’s patio. She never saw what was brought it from those ships, or if they took anything back, but she could always make out the black non-reflective material that stretched along the sides of the ship.

The walls of the current place were, without a doubt, made from the same material as that one ship. She started to wonder if this _was_ that same ship. They were cool to the touch, with thin ridges going through them in distinct patterns, like microchips, or even the lines across Peridot’s face. She could almost see them glowing like they normally would in regular circumstances. Hopefully it was nonfunctional. A ship of this size could be traced if any unusual activity was detected. On the other hand, if it _was_ functional, Lapis was certain Peridot would be able to operate it one way or another.

“I think I can pilot one of these things.”

Lapis snorted. “Really?”

Peridot’s eyes practically twinkled. “Yes! I remember Pearl talking about standard executive functions, one of which is being able to fly practically anything.”

“Did she ever mention you had that modem?” She could see Peridot thinking over it, her core illuminating every movement happening inside her circuits.

“She never said so explicitly, but I’m pretty sure her pride was at stake.”

“So, if she didn’t install it…”

“…Citrine must have.” Peridot finished, grinning like a kid that had outsmarted a teacher.

“A shame that the place is a wreck, though…” Peridot hummed in agreement, tracing her fingers along the surface of the wall. “What else did Pearl and Citrine tell you?”

“Pearl didn’t talk much, but she was incessant on finish me as quickly as possible. Citrine liked experimenting.” The closest thing to a shiver ran down Peridot’s back, which didn’t go unnoticed by Lapis.

“What do you mean?”

“Well—”

_“Guys, you have to come see this shit!”_ The corridor shook with Amethyst’s voice. The two looked at one another before running in the direction of her voice. The sound of Peridot’s feet clanking against the metal ground echoed down the hall and it reminded Lapis of the sound her hammer made when she did her smith work. The mind couldn’t keep up with how quickly things had changed.

Soon enough, the corridor opened up to a clearing illuminated by a skylight—which was really just a blast hole on the ceiling that let moonlight in. Amethyst and Ruby were at the center of the foyer, looking over a shutdown control panel the size of two operation tables.

“Isn’t it fucking cool?!”

Leave it to Amethyst to call a giant death machine ‘cool’.

“I’ll fangirl over this pile of alien junk in the morning. Right now, I just want to sleep.”

“Lapis, gems don’t need sleep.”

“We don’t need to eat either but you don’t see me judging your pastimes.” Amethyst shot her a glare as she dropped her bag. She took out a blow torch and reached for the nearest breakable object with the clear intention of setting it on fire.

“You do know a regular lighter would’ve sufficed, right?”

“But where’s the fun in that?”

An old rolling chair became the victim of Amethyst’ pyromantic episode, as she broke off the back rest and ripped out the fabric. She dropped it unceremoniously where Lapis sat and walked back in search of more flame fuel. Lapis decided to humor her by removing her jacket and throwing it into the pile, leaving her in only a tank top and the little dignity she had left. Ruby mimicked her, and took it a step further by ripping the sleeves of her t-shirt and tossing them into the pile as well.

“Why’d you even do that?”

“Impulse.”

Before Lapis could answer, she noticed the dried blood on Ruby’s arm. “Are you still bleeding?”

Ruby looked down at her arm and shrugged. “I don’t think so. My body heat might’ve sealed it off.”

Lapis shivered.

“That should do it.” Amethyst said, dropping a few more things into the pile before drowsing it in gasoline and lighting it up with the blow torch. The effect was immediate, the warmth of the flames warming up Lapis’ arms and legs in only a few seconds. She sat closer to the fire and rubbed her hands, heaving a satisfied sigh. Both Amethyst and Ruby sat across from Lapis; Amethyst falling asleep almost immediately after making contact with the ground and Ruby staring into the fire with almost the same level of intensity as the flames themselves.

“Careful, you might put it out.”

Ruby shook her head. “What? Oh. Sorry.”

Lapis moved to lay on her stomach and rested her head on her palm. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, it’s just…I’m worried, y’know?”

“About Sapphire?”

“Yeah, what if…what if they interrogate her thinking she had something to do with this? If they think she helped us escape?” Ruby pulls at the fabric of her shirt anxiously and looks around.

“You shouldn’t worry too much, Pearl is there.”

“There’s only so much Pearl can do.” Lapis hums and turns around to face the skylight.

They’re silent after that; Amethyst already snoring and Ruby deep within her inner dialogue. Lapis can’t tell how long she stayed like that; staring at the moon moving across the skylight. So much time had passed that by the time she pushed herself up the fire was put out and Ruby had fallen asleep on Amethyst. Lapis looked around and found no signs of Peridot. She felt nervous for a moment, but then heard quiet mumbling coming from the corridor leading outside. Curiosity piqued, Lapis quietly got up and made her way to the corridor. The more she walked the louder the mumbling got, until eventually she could make out the words.

“…we’ve been walking for a little over seventy-two hours. The Ruby continues to be hostile, but the Amethyst is rather friendly, despite the mockery.”

She felt like she was intruding into something private, but she continued walking.

“…the Lazuli…has been exhibiting conflicting patterns of behavior.”

Lapis stopped. She opted to humor herself and leaned against the wall of the corridor, crossing her arms.

“…she’s, well, no clear conclusion has been reached on her opinion of me. I will elaborate more on that in a separate log. For the moment, we’ve taken shelter in an abandoned LT-20 unit, and we’re planning on continuing forth at dawn. Destination; still unknown. 2FL 5XG out.”

“I sure hope you’re not planning on using that to turn us in.” Lapis was only joking of course. Partially.

Her voice made Peridot jump and let out a shriek-like sound from her steam pipes. Similar to the noise teapots made. She quickly closed the open hatch on her forearm and stood up to face Lapis.

“N-No! It’s…” Peridot looked down, “it’s something Citrine asked me to do.”

Lapis looked at her, urging her to continue, and she did. “She wanted me to record everything I considered…important.”

“Though she didn’t really expect you to be recording your escape, did she?”

Peridot laughed. “Yeah…I thought you were asleep.”

Lapis pushed herself off the wall and took a step closer towards the droid. “Yeah, well, I guess the current events have been a little distracting.”

“Tell me about it.” Peridot leaned back into the wall and slid to the ground, pushing her legs against her chest. Lapis stared for a moment, relishing in the familiarity of the action before taking a seat next to Peridot.

“Can I ask you something?” Peridot turned to look at her and nodded, her glowing eyes blinding her like flash lights. Peridot seemed to notice this and lowered the intensity of her glare. Acknowledging the consent, Lapis moved closer, leaning into Peridot’s space. The droid seemed a bit uncomfortable, but didn’t make any effort to move away. Lapis lifted her hand and hesitated slightly before whispering,

“May I?” Another nod.

 Lapis slowly held onto Peridot’s cheek, tracing her thumb over the ridges. “Can you feel this?”

Peridot nodded ever so slightly. “Not as much as you do. But there are light sensors beneath each metal plate.” She explained.

“Why?” Lapis continued her exploration, running her fingers over Peridot’s nose, eyelids, and lips--or lack thereof.

She was awed by the warmth radiating from the cyber-gem, so much that she nearly contemplated pushing her against her chest as a source of heat. It was innocent, really; almost as if they were exploring each other. Lapis could feel Peridot’s hands reaching towards her own as they held her face. Peridot ran her cylinder-like fingers over the back of Lapis’ hands, her forearms, and slowly made her way to Lapis’ shoulders. They finally landed on Lapis’ face as she mimicked the way Lapis held her. They ran over her nose and lips and Lapis could see a spark of amazement within Peridot’s eyes.

“You’re so…soft.”

Lapis snorted. “Yeah, it’s called flesh.” Peridot shot her a glare. “And you didn’t answer my question. Why would they make you feel?”

“They didn’t tell me. I think Pearl wanted me to fully ‘experience’ life.”

“That’s such a Pearl thing.” Lapis moved her hands up. “But was the weird haircut necessary?”

“It was all a matter of aesthetic.”

“Of course.”

Eventually they moved away from each other, and reverted to sitting shoulder to shoulder. Peridot’s core hummed softly amidst the quietness of the corridor. Lapis stared at it for a moment and noticed the number sliders. They had moved three numbers down. Lapis frowned, but ignored it.

“We should go back.” Peridot said, beginning to stand up. She offered Lapis a hand, who took it, and was pulled up with relative ease.  

Peridot waited for her to follow, but Lapis stayed behind, reassuring her to go on without her.

“Yeah, I just want to get some fresh air.”

“Suit yourself.” With that, Peridot was gone, clanking disappearing into the distance.

Lapis made her way out of the shelter and took a deep breath. The moon shone brightly above her, and the sand felt soft against her toes. If she listened closely, she could hear the wheeling of the hounds in the distance, searching perilously to no avail.

 

And she if she focused even more, the rage of a diamond.

 

She turned around and walked inside the shelter.

 

She’d go back and bring hell with her. All she needed was time.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited because it's 1 AM


End file.
